


A Stab Into Nothing

by Kuroda



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Apathy, Character Development, Constructive Criticism Welcome, Extremely long story, F/F, F/M, Feed me comments and kudos for additional 'special' chapters ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, M/M, My First Fanfic, Mystery, Original Character from MMORPG Aion, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, PTSD, Plot-Centered Story, Prepare yourselves for a new record on the slowest of burns, Reader may seem OP at first, Reader will be portrayed as male but can be imagined as gender-neutral very easily, References to Depression, Slow Burn, So slow you might forget there's even a burn, The only threat to this fanfict is writers block and my unreliable sense of motivation, Time Shenanigans, Trust me I have this thing planned out, Will be more balanced in the future, You're in for a good time, graphic violence warning, reader is an assassin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2018-09-17
Packaged: 2018-11-29 11:21:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 56,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11439798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kuroda/pseuds/Kuroda
Summary: Following the star of death, you cloaked yourself in the shadows and became an Assassin. You were a weapon of war, a poisoned dagger to be honed and used against competing factions. The upper echelons controlled the direction of your blade and you killed whomever they pointed you towards. You were nothing more than a puppet for the voice that brought you into ascension. It whispered that you should feel nothing, think nothing, and be nothing aside from a soldier that obeyed its order. Too weary to fight this entity inside your head forever, eventually you became nothing more than an empty, soulless blade.But, what happens when, one day, while on your way to complete a mission, you encounter an unknown rift that ends up pulling both you and your targets into a strange, new world. There, you meet a race known as Monsters who have been trapped underground for a millennium. Owing the strange, goat-lady a favor, you accept their request to protect Frisk, a 10-year-old human kid, as they journey across the underground. You didn't realize that such a straightforward task would lead you to more than you could have ever imagined. (I'm still learning, so the story will start out a bit slow. It'll speed up as things progress!)





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Between Time and Space](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5552156) by [CrossBladeWing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrossBladeWing/pseuds/CrossBladeWing). 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! This is my first try at a fanfiction so please bear with my faults! Thank you for reading. ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎
> 
> ** The Full Summary: **
> 
> You were once human, but fate called you to ascend and become a Daeva; An immortal being who has awakened their potential for controlling Aether (think of it as something like magic). Following the star of death, you cloaked yourself in the shadows and became an Assassin. Equipped with the unique ability to blend in perfectly with your surroundings, stun enemies, and deal high bursts of damage, you excelled in scouting for information and taking down targets before they can even react.
> 
> You were a weapon of war, a poisoned dagger to be honed and used against competing factions, as your race fought over the shattered remains of the ancient world, Atreia. The upper echelons controlled the direction of your blade and you killed whomever they pointed you towards. You were nothing more than a puppet for the voice that brought you into ascension. It whispered that you should feel nothing, think nothing, and be nothing aside from a soldier that obeyed its order. Too weary to fight against this entity inside your head forever, eventually you did as it commanded and became nothing more than an empty, soulless blade.
> 
> But, what happens when, one day, while on your way to complete a mission, you encounter an unknown rift that ends up pulling both you and your targets into a strange, new world. There, you meet a race known as Monsters who have been trapped underground for over a millennium. With a cold, neutral silence replacing the whispers that once numbed and controlled you, you gradually find yourself no longer the completely unfeeling Assassin you used to be. Owing the strange, goat-lady a favor, you accept their request to protect Frisk, a 10-year-old human kid, as they journey across the underground. You didn't realize that such a straightforward task would lead you to more than you could have ever imagined.
> 
> **[Not in the actual writing, but still funny as a theoretical conversation]**
> 
> You: “Uh, madam. You do realize that I am an immortal Assassin who has spent the eternity of their time killing people, right?”
> 
> Toriel: “Yes, my child. I am very much aware, but I believe you can complete my request without resorting to violence.”
> 
> You: (Internally screaming that your LV is 65 (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻) "…I’ll do my best.”

You were a Daeva from the world of Atreia, a planet shattered by the Millenium War. After the Tower of Eternity, Atreia’s source of life and energy, was nearly destroyed by the invading Balaur race in the event known as the Cataclysm, both the world and your kind split apart into two. Following the destruction of the tower, ancient Atreians were separated, creating the Elyos and Asmodian races that each occupied a different half of Atreia.

One half of the shattered Eternity Tower, the Tower of Light, stood in Elysea. The Elyos race occupied this lower half of the shattered planet, bathing in sunlight all year round. Meanwhile, little light penetrated into the upper half, where the Tower of Darkness in Asmodae and the Asmodian race lived.

Asmodae, your home, was a far darker and more dangerous environment than the sunbathed paradise of Elysea. Your race were reshaped after centuries of living without warmth and light, braving the bitter cold and dark with a burning resilience. The Asmodians grew pale, gaining red eyes that allowed them to see in the dark when fighting, and found that their hands and feet sharpened into claws and talons over time. Equipped with their black, shadow-feathered wings and a devilish appearance, the gift that they saw in their evolution was seen by the Elyos as a curse instead.

Illuminated by the sun’s everlasting grace, the Elyos gained their rosy complexion, fair features, and delicate appearance. Their white-feathered wings unfolded proudly against their backs, giving them an ethereal demeanor even as they expressed disdain and contempt at your kind. 

Of the 10 Empyrean Lords whom survived the Cataclysm, 5 ruled Asmodae and were revered by the Asmodians as the Shedim Lords. A history of bitterness existed between the Admodian Shedim Lords and the Elyos Seraphim Lords over the shattering of the Tower; the former believed that the attempted peace Treaty with the alien, beast-like Balaur race had allowed them the chance to strike at the Tower, while the latter believed that the Treaty had been the right move and was ruined by the Shedim Lords' suspicions. 

This, coupled with centuries of separation between the upper and lower halves of Atreia, estranged the once united Daeva. Now, locked into an eternal blood feud with one another and the Balaur, all three factions battle for control in this ravaged world. 

You were once human, struggling to survive on a dying planet, but fate called you to ascend and become a Daeva; An immortal being who has awakened their potential for controlling Aether (something like magic or source energy). Thus, your journey began…

 

* * *

* * *

* * *

 

How long has it been since you ascended? You find yourself thinking, perched on a piece of debris that floated in the nothingness of space. You weren’t sure. Time seems to blend together into something meaningless when you’re granted with an eternal life. 

You had stopped counting after the first hundred years, but that shouldn't have been too long ago.

You glance over to your task box as a voice quietly murmurs in your ear: 

『 **Quest** :<[Group] Vanquish the Elyos in Reshanta> _You must defeat Elyos Army Generals who affect Elyos morale and the tide of war._ 』

The whispers begin to grow louder and more _insistent_ when you try to ignore them. General Votan’s orders replay inside your head.

> _"You're the best or you wouldn't be here. You're ready for what's to come. All the battle training and drills won't help win a war if a soldier's spirit isn't in it. I need someone like you in charge of improving morale. Isolating these powerful Elyos Generals and taking them down will be your toughest task to date…"_

You recall nodding absentmindedly, eyes glazed over with a thin layer of haze, as you listened to the familiar speech for what seemed like the thousandth time. _“Just give me my orders, sir.”_ The General made no indication that he heard you, continuing on with his lengthy lecture. Perhaps you hadn't said it out loud? You can't remember.

> _“…By defeating them, you'll crush the Elyos spirit and raise the morale of the Asmodian army. You've proven your reliability time and again, **Reiquent**. That's why I selected you for this mission. There aren't very many, and we only want you killing those of comparable skill to you. What's worse, they're unlikely to be alone. Even a tough **Assassin** like you will want some allies for this task. Be careful, and don't get reckless."_

You had the urge to leave immediately after he finished speaking, but the voice in your head held you back. They wanted you to reply, so you complied. _“Don’t worry about me.”_ You uttered in monotone before flying out of the base.

You were currently stationed in the Upper half of Reshanta, also referred to as the Abyss. When Atreia was ripped into two halves after the shattering of the Tower of Eternity, a great disharmonious resonance began to flow between the bases of the two broken tower halves. Here, the flow of space-time was distorted, resulting in the creation of a chaotic, infinite landscape. Centuries after the events of the Cataclysm, Elyos and Asmodians began to discover entry points into the realm of the Abyss from their homelands. Rifts in the fabric of space (the Abyss), occupied much of the center of Atreia. Many of the early expedition groups sent to explore these gates and where these unknown rifts led to never returned.

Obelisks, the soul-binding relics that allowed fallen Daeva to resurrect at a fixed point in space, took years to set up in this voided world, which led to numerous causalities on both sides as those unable to resurrect in the void met with their permanent demise. However, once both Atreian factions were able to set up their respective Abyss Fortresses, they and the Balaur race quickly descended into a violent competition over which faction could take up the most abyssal territory, as further exploration attempts found rifts leading to other worlds, including useful instances and dungeons whereas to train and hone their troops.

Your moment of recollection is suddenly interrupted by your senses warning you of approaching danger. 

You snap awake and stand up, grey eyes briefly flashing red as you unsheathe your weapons. Still cloaked in stealth, you unfurl your wings and retreat to a higher vantage point. You had a fairly large wingspan, thus needing only a few seconds to rise 100 meters over your original position. 

If you were within a specific range, certain classes would be able to detect you in stealth. Of course, a successful detection on you would be difficult to pull off unless they could anticipate your location, as the skill needed to see through an Assassin's stealth couldn't be used in rapid succession.

You watch silently as a group of Elyos fly past beneath you. They were in a team of six made up of a Templar (Defence), a Songweaver (Damage/Support), a Spirit Master (Damage/Support), a Gladiator (Damage/Defence), a Cleric (Healer), and a Ranger (Damage/Scout). 

Your brow creases slightly at the duel healing capabilities of the team, namely the Cleric and Songweaver. Had it only been one, though difficult in a 6 vs 1 fight, you could make quick work of their healing support and slowly whittle down the team's strength through several ambush-run tactics. 

Dealing with two potential healers and team revives was going to be troublesome. 

Just as you were about to give up on these targets in favor of searching for a more sure-kill group, you overhear a static whisper. This one was unlike the apathetic commands in your head that prompted you to act. Instead, the voice was barely more than a raspy whimper, one that could have been easily brushed off as the sound a rock makes when scraping past another. None of the Elyos seemed to have noticed. 

Despite that, you stop. A small influx of confusion makes its way into your eyes, a touch of silver glimmering briefly through the grey.

Why do you have this feeling that you're being called? The emotion numbs just as quickly as it surfaces, but you don't retreat again. Instead, as if an invisible force had wrapped its threads around your body, you slowly begin to fly in the direction that the Elyos group had disappeared off into.

 

* * *

* * *

* * *

 

**You were _falling_...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since this is my first fan-fiction attempt, I will probably be editing my posted chapters a lot. So, what you first read and what you reread may end up somewhat different. I'll do my best to make sure nothing major changes, or notify you guys when it inevitably does. I've also decided to move my character stats (that I previously showed here) and move it into the next chapter. See you then!
> 
> If you're interested in more of the Lore for Aion: http://gameguide.na.aiononline.com/aion/Lore
> 
> Thank you to all my wonderful old readers, and hello to all you new ones out there. I'm not going anywhere. :D
> 
>  **Useful Information for Readers** :  
> 1\. Click "Chapter Index" at the top of this page to go to specific chapters immediately. (Saves you the trouble!)  
> 2\. Click "Hide Creator's Style" at the top of this page if you see problems with the character font and colored-text. (Mobile-users!)


	2. A Whole New World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster sounds like he's planning something, you fall and somehow keep falling, and a wild goat-lady appears!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! Thank you for reading. Kudos and comments are always appreciated~ ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎

> _ Information on Subject No. 42: **Reiquent** _
> 
> _An Asmodian Assassin from the shattered world of Atreia, no. 42 exhibits the defining features of his race: Pale skin, eyes that glow red when fighting, sharp talons replacing the nails on their hands and feet, and black-feathered wings. Other than these noticeable differences, the Asmodians have very human-like appearances._
> 
> _Once human, no. 42 was a part of a bandit group called the Raiders before the voice of Aion, a Daevian God and the Tower of Eternity’s divine personification, visited him in a dream. The voice explained that no. 42 was meant to fulfil a prophecy and revealed the steps he would need to take in order to ascend and become a Daeva; an immortal being with unfathomable power._
> 
> _However, once successful in his ascension, Aion injected a piece of itself into no. 42’s soul, allowing the former to momentarily suppress no. 42’s emotions and take control over his physical body. No. 42 was ultimately unsuccessful in his attempts to reject the foreign power and succumbed to the voice’s influence, albeit struggling against its control for over a century._
> 
> _The strengths of no. 42 lies in his assassination abilities and the potency of his immortal soul; his weaknesses include a lack of ambition and aspiration towards anything and an impaired ability to feel or express emotion._

Glancing over his own report, Gaster smiled. His cracked face fizzled as the void rushes in to fill in the gaps, hoping that it could swallow him whole. This Subject, no. 42, seems very very promising. 

He had finally found a suitable candidate, and completed his plans to pull them into their world. He only hoped that his actions had been sufficient to draw in the subject. After all, what better way to fight an anomaly, than with another anomaly?

He only had to wait, it wouldn’t be long now…

 

* * *

* * *

* * *

 

You were _falling_. Though that shouldn’t surprise you, not that anything often does. You were, however, falling down fast, and the ground was visibly catching up. You turn your head and glance down, feeling the wind rush past your face as if complaining that it couldn't support your weight. Something felt off about you, different, but you couldn’t quite place what had changed.

You sigh softly, looking back to the blue skies as you resigned yourself to the freefall. It looks like you had passed through a rift, though thinking back, it was more accurate to say that you were pulled in. You had followed after the Elyos group, feeling the call of...something. It wasn’t long after you caught up to them when a huge rift suddenly opened up in the space between you two, tearing up the fabric of the Abyss. The others had been taken aback and tried to maintain their distance from the rift, likely in fear that something was going to exit from it. You recall that they hadn’t been able to fly away for more than a meter before a black hole unexpectedly opened up in the center of the rift, sucking all seven of you in.

It was strange. You had never heard of such an odd-looking rift being located in Upper Reshanta. Moreover, all the rifts that you’ve seen were either colored red or blue, and appeared as a large, semi-transparent swirl. They were gateways to other locations in time and space, but required that you physically pass through them. Nothing like the black, gaping hole that appeared in the center of the rift, sucking in anyone nearby, had ever been recorded.

For some reason, after you entered this world and realized you were falling, you found that you couldn’t open up your wings. Perhaps it was because of an evolutionary advantage, but when a Daeva didn’t need to fly, there were no visible traces of wings on their backs. Generally, your kind could summon and dismiss them with a simple thought when necessary, but otherwise, they don’t appear on the person. The problem now, was that while you have made numerous attempts to summon your wings, you'd been greeted each time without a response.

There were only two reasons you could think of that explained your current predicament. One, you had been hit with a skill that diminished your flight time to 0, or two, there is a lack of aether in this world and thus, you can’t fly here in the first place. Looking at the growing distant figures of the Elyos group as they fell further and further away from you, you settled on option two.

The six beams of light that were plummeting down with you each headed towards the ground in a different direction. It looks like all seven of you would be landing separately. _Good_. The last thing you needed was to survive the landing, _if_ you survived, only to be killed by an Elyos. Dying wasn’t the problem, but you couldn’t confirm with absolute certainty that you would revive back at the base after the rift had transported you across time and space. The inescapable fate of living through the rest of your eternity in torment as your immortal soul detaches itself from your physical body, neither able to revive nor leave this world, was not one that you would willingly choose.

You were close enough to the ground now that you could make out the silhouette of a city next to the mountain ranges. It looks like you were going to land in the middle of the tallest mountain. You brace yourself for the impact, tactfully positioning your body like you’ve done many times before in order to minimize the damage. So, when you fall directly through the ground, a bolt of shock ripples through your eyes before you can suppress it. The sudden darkness had swallowed you whole, and so you just keep on _falling_.

 

* * *

* * *

* * *

 

You opened your eyes, slowly blinking at the bright, white light shining down on you as you try and piece together what just happened. The memories were fuzzy and indistinct. _Weren’t they always?_ You felt your lips twitch at that thought, but quickly suppress them both out of habit.

You remember that you had unexpectedly fallen _through_ the ground. There was a suffocating darkness that had surrounded you from all sides, one that not even your red eyes could penetrate through. There was also something else, no, _someone_ else, but you can’t seem to remember.

You give up on attempting to decipher the obscure memories and take a look around. A patch of soft, yellow flowers had broken your fall. They were growing in what looks to be an underground cavern. You try sitting up. Only, your body now seems to be made of lead as it doesn’t move so much as an inch. Had you taken too much damage from the fall? No, that didn’t seem right. No matter how much damage you took, as long as your health didn’t hit 0 and you die, you would rapidly recover while sitting or lying down. Torn tendons and broken bones made no difference with your recovery ability.

You decide to open up your description box, which would automatically compile a report on your current status, stats, and worn equipment, to check if something was wrong. A small, simple chart appears inside your head.

**"Reiquent"**

**LV 65**  
**HP 1/21552**

 **AT 1415(844)............EXP: ∞**  
**DF 1600(740)............NEXT: 0**

 **WEAPON: Dual Void Daggers**  
**ARMOR: Shadowdancer Leather Armor**

**Gold: 2.5 Billion+.....KILLS: 9999**

"…"

There was definitely something wrong, and it wasn’t just that you weren’t recovering health. This chart was compiled in a way that was completely different from what you were used to seeing. It didn’t report your other stats, such as magic points (MP), critical rate, accuracy, etc., and simplified your equipment into two categories: weapon and armor, whereas your original description box separated them into individual head, shoulder-guard, gauntlet, armor, breaches, and footwear pieces. The atreian currency you carried on you, kinah, was recorded as gold instead, and a new column was added to reflect your number of kills.

Looking at the number, you think for a moment that you have, for sure, killed far more than it’s recorded. You just never bothered to keep score. _Perhaps, 9999 was as far as it goes?_

You shake your head and close the box. You were currently immobilized due to your low health, and your primary course of action now should be to find a way to recover before you’re killed. It might be possible to for you to drink a health restoring potion, so you open up your inventory.

**INVENTORY**

**Cippo Aether Jelly**

**Cippo Aether Jelly**

**Cippo Aether Jelly**

**Cippo Aether Jelly**

**Cippo Aether Jelly**

**Cippo Aether Jelly**

**Cippo Aether Jelly**

**Empyrean Casual Wear**

"…"

You close the box. A wave of exhaustion permeates throughout your body and a flicker of irritation burrows its way between your brows. Only a single thought surfaces inside your mind at this moment. _Are you serious?_

Your body stiffens abruptly, frozen by the sudden realization. You’ve been feeling off since you entered this world, and it was because you couldn’t hear the voice. The whispers that were constantly telling you what to do, what to think, and how to feel. The voice echoing inside your head this whole time had been _yours_.

You…You don’t know how to feel about this sudden liberation. Common sense rationalized that you should be happy, you were finally free and would no longer have to obey the voice’s orders. Yet, other than your momentary surprise earlier, you didn’t really feel much of anything right now.

Your thoughts are interrupted by your senses warning you of an approaching figure. A beast in the shape of a bipedal, white goat appears at the end of the cavern. You catch the brief look of shock that crosses their face as they stop upon noticing your lying figure. They compose themselves before slowly making their way towards you, flashing you a friendly smile.

Although you couldn’t detect any hostility from this creature, out of instinct, your eyes glow red in warning. “ **Stay away from me**.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we've finally reached the underground. I'm tempted to post Chapter 3 today, since that's when the story actually begins.
> 
> If anyone is interested, the Undertale-version of the reader's stats are based on interpreting my actual game character's stats, which you can see here: http://na.aiononline.com/livestatus/character-legion/search?serverID=5&charID=2092618
> 
>  **[Please Note]:** The picture shown on the stats page is **NOT** what the reader actually looks like. It's just a default picture. I will not be including a picture of my real character so you can interpret my descriptions as you like :D
> 
> What Cippo Aether Jelly is will be explained in the later chapters. Promise. See you in Chapter 3~


	3. Protect Them, Will You Not?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If one slice of butterscotch-cinnamon pie can fully heal Frisk, then one wonders what an entire 7/8ths of the pie can do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! Thank you for reading. Kudos and comments are always appreciated~ ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎

Although you couldn’t detect any hostility from this creature, out of instinct, your eyes glow red. “Stay away from me.” You growl. Your voice was softened by weakness, but the hidden threat in your warning was made clear. 

Lying immobilized and out in the open, you were in an extremely vulnerable position. Currently, you could neither attack nor retreat. So if this creature wanted to take advantage of your weakened state, you would be powerless to defend against them. The only option you had now was to scare them away. After they left, you would think of a method to recover enough so that you could activate shadow walk; a skill used by assassins to enter stealth. You would feel safer after melding into the shadows. 

Seeming startled by your sudden hostility, the creature stops advancing. Their clear gaze flickers back and forth between your glowing irises, as if searching for something. It doesn’t seem like they find what they’re looking for, because after a moment of silence their expression eventually softens again. 

“Ah, do not be afraid my child.” They reassure you in a gentle voice. “I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. I pass through this place everyday to see if anyone has fallen down.” They smile strangely and look away, as if reminiscing. “You are the second human to fall down here today.”

Your tense muscles relax somewhat when you notice that they don’t make another attempt to draw near. You tiredly lower your shoulders, resting your back against the soft flowers. You turn your head to face the other, eyes still alert. 

A few rays of sunlight cascade down from the entrance above you, illuminating their figure. 

You notice that the creature…Toriel, had droopy ears and two short horns on their head. They wore a long purple robe with some sort of odd symbol stitched onto the center. Their appearance seems relatively harmless to you, as least when compared to the creatures you fought with in Asmodae. You mentally categorize Toriel into the non-hostile group. 

“…what do you say, my child?” Toriel smiles hopefully at you. 

You blink, unsure what was being asked of you. You hadn’t really been paying much attention to what they were saying while you internally calculated whether or not they were a threat. 

Toriel covers her mouth as she chuckles into her paw. “Oh, heh…heh…Could it be that the sight of me has taken your breath way? While I must say that I lung (long) to air (share) your affections, I’m afraid that I must decline and O₂ (go to) my duties.” 

You are struck with a sudden sense of foreboding. Unable to comprehend what the other was saying, you chose to remain quiet. And as if taking your lack of response as an agreement, Toriel nods solemnly. 

"…"

Your confusion must have been clearly visible in your eyes because after what seemed like an uncomfortably long period of silence, Toriel bursts out laughing. “Ha ha ha! Your expression right now is simply adorable, my child.” 

After taking a moment to compose herself, Toriel smiles at you again, this time looking much more relaxed. “Do not take offence to my antics. After all, you can certainly find better than an old woman like me. I only meant to share a joke with you and lighten the mood.” 

You watch as she clasps her paws together. “Perhaps we can start over. Greetings. I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins.” 

After a moment of hesitation, you slowly reply. “Reiquent.” 

Seeming pleased by your response, Toriel flashes you a look of encouragement. “Good, you are a very good child.”

Unable to suppress the sudden urge to defend yourself, you immediately choke out. “I am not a child.” _And I’m certainly not good._ You think to yourself.

Giving you a sly, understanding look, Toriel huffs. “With how long I have lived, I think I should know by now who is and who is not considered a child. With the short lifespans you humans have, every single one of you is considered a child to me.”

You hold back from blurting out that you weren’t human and resign yourself to the nickname. You were currently too tired to be arguing like this, and technically what they said _did_ make sense. Although you had been granted with immortality, only a bit more than a century of time has passed since your ascension. Under their logic and reasoning, and with your current age, you would still be considered a child to them. 

Noticing your look of exhaustion, Toriel’s expression grows worried. “Child. I know that you are hurt right now and are wary of danger, but I really mean you no harm.” 

_She’s telling the truth_. Your thoughts echo inside your mind, and you find yourself reluctantly agreeing with it. If she had truly intended to kill you, then she would have taken the opportunity to strike at you already. With the current state that you were in, one strike would be more than enough.

“If possible, I ask that you let me near enough so that I can heal you with my magic. I will guide you through the catacombs once you are well again. What do you say, my child?” Toriel looks at you hopefully.

Before you could agree to her terms, however, another voice worms its way into your consciousness. _You cannot trust anyone except your own race. Your hands are stained with the blood of many. Think about it, who would truly want to help you?_

You are suddenly struck with a bone-chilling cold. The freezing feeling wraps itself around your head like a snake, numbing your thoughts. _That’s right. Remember. A soldier doesn’t need to feel or think. You are nothing._

_You are nothing…_

The words echo inside your head, repeating over and over again as if hoping to permanently brand itself into your mind. You didn’t know when your eyes glazed over, staring blankly into nothingness of the caverns, nor did you notice when Toriel had quietly turned around and left. 

The world around you seems to slowly lose its color as time passed. You close your eyes.

 

* * *

* * *

* * *

 

You awaken to the smell of butterscotch and cinnamon. Blinking away the lingering feeling of drowsiness, you turn and see Toriel sitting about 3-meters way. She had laid out a sheet of cloth on the outermost end of the flowerbed. The source of that sweet scent was coming from the steaming pie with a missing wedge, resting in the center. Plates and utensils were neatly scattered around the pie. 

Noticing that you were awake, Toriel closes the book that she had been reading and gently takes off her glasses. “How are you feeling, my child?” 

It turns out that Toriel was worried that you were losing consciousness when you stopped responding to her questions. So she returned to her house in order to warm up the butterscotch-cinnamon pie that she had baked earlier, in hopes that it would help you recover, or at least make you feel somewhat better. By the time she had returned, however, you were fast asleep, so she decided to make herself comfortable here and waited until you woke up. 

Listening to her talk, you found that Toriel’s voice was surprisingly pleasant. It felt like a warm ray of sunlight, slowly melting the icy chill that had numbed you before. Feeling a bit stronger, you try to get up again. This time, your body responds and you’re able to lift yourself into a sitting position, albeit sluggishly. 

Toriel hands you a slice of pie, seeming delighted. “Ah, good! It looks like some rest has done you well. Here, eat this. Monster food is made with magic so it should help in healing some of your injuries.” 

You take the plate, nodding your thanks. “Monster? Is that what your race is called?” You couldn’t help but ask before taking a bite out of the pie. It instantly dissolves in your mouth, sending a wave of warmth throughout your body. You found that you liked the feeling. 

“Yes. Long ago, there were two races that ruled over Earth: humans and monsters. However, one day, war broke out between the two races…” Toriel briefly explains their race’s history to you while you worked on finishing the slice of pie. 

Apparently, monsters, unlike humans, were made mostly out of magic and little physical matter. Their souls, the culmination of their being, were directly attune with their bodies, thus granting them the ability to use magic. In comparison, however, humans were made up of mostly physical matter and so their magic was concentrated into their soul. Thus, human souls were considered stronger and more potent than monster souls, whose magic was spread around their bodies. 

Listening to details of the Great War that occurred between humans and monsters, you were reminded of the situation back in your own world, Atreia. It seemed that suspicion between the two factions had pitted humans against the monsters, much like how the controversy over the shattering of the Tower of Eternity had pitted the Elyos and Asmodians against each other. 

Finished with your slice, you found your eyes gravitating towards the remainder of the pie. And as if noticing your gaze, Toriel hid a smile before gesturing that you could help yourself. By the time she had finished recounting the history of monsterkind, all that remained of the pie in your hands was an empty tin and a few crumbs. 

Toriel lets out a laugh. “Ha, well I’m very pleased that you like my baking. Are you feeling better?” 

You nod, a quick check confirms that your health has been fully restored. 

“That is good then. I was worried that there had been some permanent damage done to you when you fell.” 

A period of silence passes between the two of you. Toriel seemed to be in deep thought, and you continue to stare at the empty pie tin, unsure of why there was a growing feeling of restlessness welling up within you. 

The silence is broken when Toriel turns back to look at you, a hint of unwillingness in her eyes. “I assume that you also want to return to the surface, correct?”

You don’t respond. In all honesty, you weren’t sure what you wanted right now. You had fallen into an unfamiliar world, been granted your freedom (sort of), and was currently trapped underground with a strange, alien race. You were an assassin that was bred for war, but had suddenly found yourself without an aim or purpose. 

Toriel mistakes your silence for agreement. “I understand, my child. The Ruins are very small once you are familiar with them, and it would be selfish and cruel of me to keep you trapped down here just to ease my loneliness.” She sighs sadly, shoulders drooping as if they bore an inconceivable weight. 

“There was another child that fell before you. Though they were but a small, feeble thing, they showed me the errors of my way before leaving. But…Now, I worry that **Asgore** will find and kill them, like he has done to the previous six children that fell down here.” 

You notice that Toriel’s paws clenches into fists at the mention of the King, her voice turning bitter and harsh. The restlessness that had weld up inside you earlier grows stronger, but you don’t know how to appease it, so you remain silent.

After taking a deep breath to calm herself, Toriel gives you a soft, sad smile. “Child. Are you willing to listen to this silly, old woman’s request?” 

You glance at the empty pie tin still in your hands before looking back to Toriel. You slowly nod your head. The feelings of restlessness grow quieter in response.

“That child I just mentioned, they shouldn’t have gone too far past the Ruins. Could…Could I ask that you protect them as they journey across the underground?” Toriel wrings her paws in worry. “They are just so, so small, and yet filled with such kindness. I’m afraid that they might eventually encounter a situation where kindness may not necessarily be the right answer…”

She smiles apologetically at you. “Call it a mother’s intuition, but I believe that someone like you would be more suited to handle such situations in their place should they arise.” 

Toriel gazes at you, eyes pleading. “You will protect them, will you not?” 

A message box suddenly appears inside your head. 

『 **Quest** :<A Mother’s Intuition> _You must protect the fallen human child as they journey across the underground._ Accept [ ] or Decline [ ]?』

The last traces of restlessness leave you as you make your decision.

“ **I accept**.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the longest chapter yet. I thought about breaking it into two parts but I had already decided on Chapter 3's title and was too lazy to come up with an additional one. Gotta stick to my plans after all, or things are bound to get all jumbled up. 
> 
> See you in Chapter 4!


	4. The Ruins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Surprise Toriel POV, you have trouble with locked doors, and we finally exit the Ruins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! Thank you for reading. Kudos and comments are always appreciated. ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎

Toriel knelt by the flowerbed, carefully tending to the golden flowers. The batch at the centermost had been slightly wilted from having to support the weight of two fallen humans. Humming a soft tune under her breath, she thought back to the events of today. 

The first human she found here had been a small, sweet child. They were quiet, but kind and good-natured. Toriel had intervened when a terrible, flower-shaped creature sought to torture the poor youth. It was good that they had not suffered too much harm, or she feared that she would have been too late. 

Toriel healed the small child with her magic before guiding them through the catacombs. To her surprise, the small youth was very bright and intelligent, easily solving the puzzles that littered the Ruins. Sometimes, she would not even have to explain before the child started moving in the right direction. Needless to say, they had traversed the Ruins very quickly before she found them waiting, just a block away from her house and without so much as a scratch. 

It was strange. Although Toriel had never met this small youth before, while she bought the ingredients to make their surprise, she was able to guess that they preferred cinnamon over butterscotch. She had also felt this sense of foreboding when the youth, finished their nap, climbed onto her lap while she read them snail facts. It was almost as if she could predict that the small child would soon leave her.

Letting a soft sigh escape, Toriel gently brushes away the flower petals that stuck to her robe. Perhaps it was because her own two children had left her around that age, but Toriel found herself very much attached to the first youth that had fallen down here today. 

Speaking of fallen humans, Toriel chuckles as she thinks of you. She had just finished saying her goodbyes to the first child, leaving them with a hug and requesting that they didn’t come back, when she returned here to find you. 

You obviously had had a more painful fall. Lying still in the bed of golden flowers and exhibiting such weak signs of life, Toriel had almost thought you were dead before you turned your head and looked at her. Her first impression of you had been surprise. She felt oddly strange when she saw your lying figure, almost like you shouldn’t be there. She had quickly shaken away those thoughts before making her way towards you.

Out of her expectations, however, you reacted to her presence with a stunning display of hostility. Eyes burning red, you nearly snarled for her to keep away. She had been startled by your aggression, and so she kept her distance like you wanted. 

Gazing into your eyes, she looked for what she usually saw in adult humans: greed, anger, disgust, bitterness, and hatred. These emotions generally indicated that the human was a threat, and if you had displayed any of them in your eyes, then she would have likely not allowed you to enter the catacombs, for fear that you would harm the others. 

To her surprise, your eyes did not reflect any of these emotions. Instead, there was only a deep blankness that permeated through them, which occasionally carried a flicker of something else. Although your glowing, red irises had been startling, they did not contain even a shred if impurity. Almost as if there had been nothing in there at all. The only things that she could make out from those faint flickers was fear and confusion, like you were a lost child. 

You seemed to have been critically injured, and was only afraid that others would cause you harm. Thus, her heart softened and she made an attempt to prove her good intentions. Pondering over how she could best convey to you that she was not a threat, Toriel decided on telling you a joke when she noticed that you had been distracted, and was not paying attention to her inquiry over healing you. 

She had not been able to keep herself from laughing out loud at your dumbfounded expression and lack of comprehension over her puns, which she found to be oddly adorable. Her efforts were not futile either, because eventually she noticed that you had relaxed a bit of your guard against her. Worried about your exhausted state, she brought up the premise of healing you again. To which, you looked like you would agree this time. 

However, before you did, your expression had abruptly frozen over. The clear gaze you used to look at her was suddenly cold and distant, and you stopped responding to her questions. She had been greatly alarmed by your sudden change and after a while, returned to retrieve the pie she had baked earlier, thinking that your injuries had somehow worsened.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem that there had been any permanent damage dealt to you by the fall, for you recovered enough to sit up after some rest. Toriel had decided not to use healing magic on you when she came back and noticed that you were asleep. You seemed to have some aversion over the closeness of others and she did not want to break the trust that had just been built between the two of you. 

Delighted by your curiosity over the monster race, she enthusiastically recounted the history of monsterkind to you while you ate. Giggling to herself over your obvious desire to eat more, she gestured that you could help yourself. To her amazement, by the time she finished her lecture, you had finished the entire pie. 

While she had been glad that you were feeling better and had fully recovered from your injuries, she knew that the time to part would soon come. Toriel was honestly a bit unwilling, though she knew that she couldn’t force you to stay. Such a selfish act would not be the correct choice, as the small child who fell down here before you had taught her. 

In order to make your soon-to-be departure easier for her, however, she reasoned with herself that another human in the underground would mean that the small child would have one more protector. She truly did worry for them. Asgore, that terrible and wretched buffoon, had succeeded in collecting the souls of the six innocent children that had previously fallen into the underground. She had been unable to convince any of them to stay, and her heart ached upon the thought of freeing their race with the lives of the innocent. She could not allow his plan to succeed.

In her worry, she explained to you, who had remained quiet this whole time, that there was another child, a much _younger_ one, who had fallen down earlier today. Although she knew that it was a tad selfish and unfair, she pleaded for you to protect them and encounter the more dangerous situations in their place. Her intuition told her that you were strong, and would be better equipped for dealing with monsters who wanted to take the human’s soul. 

Toriel felt both relieved and sad when you accepted her unreasonable request. The two of you only just met, and though she had helped you recover, you were also just another pitiful child who had fallen down. To expect you to sacrifice your own safety and protect a complete stranger under her request was perhaps cruel. 

Giving herself a depreciating laugh, Toriel slowly stands up. Dusting the pollen off herself, she gives the bed of golden flowers one last departing glance before turning around and leaving the caverns. She makes her way through to the catacombs. 

Upon thinking about the numerous puzzles that littered the Ruins, she is suddenly struck by the horrifying realization. “Oh! I did not teach the second child how to complete puzzles or encounter monsters! I hope that they have not gotten themselves stuck or…” She quickly shakes the negative thoughts from her head. The child would be alright. Everyone would be alright. 

When Toriel realized that there would be a second human traversing the underground, she had reset all of the puzzles the first child solved while on her way to retrieve the pie. She had originally planned to wait until you were fully recovered before guiding you through the catacombs, teaching you how to complete puzzles and showing you the appropriate way to handle monster encounters. Unfortunately, she had been distracted by her own worries over the first child’s safety and had completely forgotten. 

Passing through to the door room, the first puzzle that you would encounter, Toriel was struck speechless. The door was gone. To be more precise, it looked as if someone had carved their way through it. Broken pieces of the once proudly standing door littered the hallway. How you had managed to slice through the thick stone was really beyond her understanding. You were indeed an interesting child.

She carefully made her way around the rubble, still shocked by the sudden turn of events. One quick glance confirms that the puzzle had not been touched. Completing the floor puzzle, Toriel pulls the lever that would open the door. The ground shakes as the last remaining parts of the door still standing crack as they drop to the floor, adding onto the growing pile of purple rubble. 

“…”

Feeling a sense of unease, she quickly makes her way to the next room. _My child, could it be that you plan to force your way through the puzzles?_ Toriel could only hope that you were able to make it past the other rooms, lest you leave the Ruins in complete and utter destruction. 

To her relief, both the lever room and spiked bridge room had been left untouched. She muses over the likelihood that you had probably directly jumped across the spikes in the lever room without completing the puzzle. Moreover, the spiked bridge room was not really all that dangerous unless you had purposefully jumped onto the spikes instead of walking through them. It didn’t seem like you had encountered any problems with either one since both rooms were left intact. 

Walking through the narrow hallway, where she had tested the small child’s independence earlier, Toriel enters a room whose floor was covered in patches of red leaves. The Froggit that was stationed next to the candy room avoided her probing gaze, looking a tad uncomfortable. 

“Other than the first human child, did you see another one cross through?” Toriel asks in her formal tone. 

“Ribbit, ribbit...No, your majesty. I did not personally see them pass by here. However, I have heard that some of the others encountered a second, larger human.” The Froggit croaks respectfully in reply, their eyes unable to meet the former’s gaze. 

“You did not personally see them cross through? There are no other paths to enter deeper into the Ruins besides this one. Just what have you been doing during this time?” She lightly admonishes them, disappointed that they had not been keeping to their duties. 

The Froggit grows flustered. “N-no, your majesty. Ribbit, ribbit. I have been sitting here this entire time and even spoke with the first fallen human. This…this second fallen human is very strange. Ribbit. According to the other Froggits, he would show up in some rooms but not in others. A Whimsun even reported seeing him vanish before their eyes.” 

“Impossible…” Toriel mutters to herself. She internally dismisses the Whimsun's report. Those poor, shy creatures often mistook what they saw due to their timid and fearful nature. As for some of the stationed monsters encountering you while others having not, that could still be explained. She herself did not notice it, but perhaps you just had a very weak presence. 

Toriel thanked the Froggit for their report before making her way through the rest of the catacombs. Besides the unfortunate destruction of the doors in the first room, you had left the rest of the Ruins intact. She couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief upon entering her house and seeing that nothing had changed. “Perhaps I will go and bake another pie.”

 

* * *

* * *

* * *

 

You were currently wandering around Toriel’s house. 

After agreeing to her request, Toriel had bid you goodbye. _"Do not worry about me. Someone has to take care of these flowers."_ She said, before turning her attention away from you. You lingered there for a moment before leaving.

Having not been given much information about Ruins, you were left to wander around by yourself. After entering the catacombs, you were first met with a large purple door. The same symbol that was stitched onto Toriel’s robe had been carved into its center. Noticing that the door didn’t budge when you pulled the lever, you simply pulled out a dagger from your back and carved your way through. 

Many of the rooms in the Ruins were quite strange. You dealt with them as quickly as you could, eager to find the human child and begin your mission. You jumped over the smaller spikes, and your dash ability allowed you to instantly teleport 20 meters forward, advancing through the lengthier rows of spiky floors and unstable ground. 

Along the way, you somehow bumped into a small creature, likely to have been another monster. The small frog-shaped creature stared at you intently, and you felt some sort of tugging feeling coming from your chest. You resisted against the pull with ease, and continued to stare at the small monster. After a period of silence and resisting another series of that tugging feeling, the frog creature began to visibly sweat. In the end, it decided to leave and quietly hopped away. 

This happened a few times as you traversed the Ruins, albeit with different monsters. You were surprised with how a single race could have so many varying shapes. Eventually, however, the encounters proved to be slowing you down, so you activated shadow walk and melded into the shadows. While in stealth, your speed decreased by 20%, and unless you attacked (or were attacked), tried to move a physical object, or were noticed by enemy hostiles, you would remain hidden from those around you. You could remain in this state for an indefinite amount of time. 

Progressing through the Ruins after activating stealth proved to be a much easier task, as you no longer had to periodically stop upon encountering a monster. Some part of you wondered what that tugging feeling was every time you met with one. _Is it some sort of attack?_ You pondered. You had already mentally categorized these small creatures into the harmless group, since whatever it was that they were doing, it didn’t seem to be affecting you. 

After reaching the end of the catacombs, you were finally greeted with the sight of a small house. You deactivated your stealth ability and stepped out of the shadows. Upon entering the house, the familiar scent of that pie you ate earlier wafted through the place, confirming that this was indeed Toriel’s. 

_But, where is the exit?_ You now find yourself wondering. Your senses had indicated that you were heading in the right direction once you stepped inside, but you were currently at a loss over where you were supposed to go. Going left led you to a well-furnished living room. You notice that the fireplace was still lit. Seeing that the kitchen was the end of this path, you return to the entrance and head right this time. 

The first door leads into a child’s room, furnished with a small bed and chests of toys. You shut the door and moved on, leaving the space undisturbed. The second door leads into a room with slightly bigger furniture. The walls and ceiling were all painted blue. 

There was an open journal on the desk, but you didn’t understand what was written on it. _Something about skeletons?_ You think. You leave and head towards the end of the hallway. The last door was locked. You thought about carving your way through again, but something tells you that this wasn’t the right place either, so you leave the door alone. 

There was a mirror hanging next to the final room. You notice that you are quite a bit taller than its hanging frame, having to bend down slightly in order to see your face. You ruffle your short, white hair that was still a tad messy from your earlier fall. Your skin was pale, and your grey eyes stared silently back at you with a blank expression. 

You remember a voice, _the_ voice, and its words echo again inside your mind as you gaze at your own reflection. 

_You are nothing..._

Your vision turns cloudy and you shake your head, backing away from the mirror. Suddenly you were feeling cold again, the familiar chill threatening to suppress your consciousness. You try to shake away the feeling and head back to the entrance. It works somewhat. 

You’re a little less cold by the time you stop at the stairway leading into the basement. This was only path you haven’t tried yet. 

Walking down the stairs, you realize that the basement consists of a series of long corridors. You travel through the first door it leads you to and continue the journey. Eventually you enter another room, and aside from the small beam of light illuminating its center, it was as dark as the caverns. There was a second door stationed at the end, so you make your way towards it.

You could feel a sharp drop in the surrounding temperature, though it doesn’t really bother you. The deserts of snow and ice in Asmodae had rendered your kind nearly invulnerable to the colder elements. You push open the door and it easily gives way to the pressure, emitting a loud creak in response. 

**The darkness around you is suddenly illuminated by white.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, we're finally finished with the Toriel Ark. Next up is meeting the smol human and the Snowdin Ark! So you have that to look forward to in Chapter 5. Thank you for your support, and see you guys soon! (´ ▽｀).。ｏ♥♡


	5. Snowdin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You delve into your previous history, find the smol child, and have no idea how to keep them warm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! Thank you for reading. Kudos and comments are always appreciated. ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎

The darkness around you is suddenly illuminated by white.

You take a moment and adjust your eyes to the sudden brightness. You had grown accustomed to the dim lighting in the Ruins and didn’t expect there to be such a drastic change in scenery. 

This place greatly differed from Ruins you had just exited. There were no purple rooms nor walls that were covered in green vines. Instead, you seemed to have entered into an underground forest, blanketed by a thick layer of snow. 

Taking a look around, you notice that there were tall trees growing on both sides. Their bare bases formed the long, narrow path which laid ahead of you. Stepping onto the snow-trodden path, the doors behind you emit a loud groan before closing shut. The sound bounces off the canopy above and echoes down the walkway.

A soft tinkling sound catches your attention and you glance down. Broken shards of glass lie scattered around a stubby bush that sat to your left. You had apparently stepped in some whilst moving away from the door. 

Peering into the bush, you brush away a couple of its piney branches. You could make out a black cylinder-shaped object that was hidden beneath. Someone had wedged a fist-sized rock into the center of the object, smashing the glass lens to pieces. You wondered what this strange contraption was meant to do, hidden so well away.

Stepping away from the bush, you activate shadow walk and entered into stealth mode. You should go and find the child. 

Before you left, Toriel informed you that only an hour of time had passed since the child left the Ruins, so they couldn’t have gone too far. If you picked up the pace like you had done in the catacombs, then you should be able to find them before they enter deeper into the underground. The faster you find them, the more assured you would be. 

_Failure of the mission is not an option._

You still at your own thoughts, and a look of confusion briefly flashes across your face. Failure of the mission was not an option? Wait. Since when had you started caring about completing your missions in the first place? From what you could remember, the voice had always been the reason you were forced to perform them. 

Everything had to be done perfectly. Quests were completed with rigorous detail, down to the last letter, or you suffered the agonizing consequences. 

You shivered slightly from the memory of a time where you had still fought against the voice. You were young, with a full decade having yet to pass since your ascension. You recall having felt a lot more strongly about your situation then, grieving over your lost freedom. It was something that could not be replaced even as you gained unimaginable power and eternal life. For what use was it to you, all that power and time, if your fate was to become nothing more than a puppet?

At first, you did all you could to resist against the voice’s influence. Body wracked with unspeakable agony for disobeying its orders, you refused to kill when it brought you to a target. 

Although the Asmodian race reined supreme in Asmodae, there were many other smaller, sentient races scattered throughout the lands. You cursed the name of Aion when it forced your hand, killing thousands upon thousands of lives in order to claim their resources. All in _his_ name. For the glory of a corrupted, shattered tower half, the Tower of Darkness.

You suspected that the God all Daevas worshiped, Aion (the divine personification of the Tower of Eternity), had gone insane after splitting into two. Why else would he torture his people so? 

There were others like you, who had been chosen to be his vessel. You watched as many of them either succumbed to the voice’s will, as you had done, or prayed for sweet release of death as they threw themselves into the Abyss, unable to come to terms with their fate.

Your struggles proved too, to be fruitless endeavors. Eventually, you could no longer bear the pain of rejecting the voice and descended into madness. In your anger and grief, you had lost yourself in massacre, quickly gaining rank and status as you killed and your powers grew. You became revered by your kind as a ruthless and reliable Assassin, and gained the title: **Incarnation of Vengeance**. However, in return, you became nothing more than an empty, soulless blade. 

A familiar ache permeates through your body at the memory. The phantom-like pain slowly subsides as you try and suppress it, clearing your head and reminding yourself that you were now free. The voice of that corrupted and evil God could no longer force his will through you.

No. You shake your head. 

You know that you yourself are not innocent either. Of the countless people that you have killed, many had been out of your own volition. At some point, you had just stopped caring about their deaths. You were numb to it. 

Now that you gained your freedom, perhaps you should feel saddened by the blood you have shed. However, you had long stopped feeling such emotions. You couldn’t grieve now even if you wanted to. 

_It’s better not to think about it,_ you decide.

You begin to walk down the narrow road, still hidden in the shadows. Earlier, you had been too preoccupied with your low HP to marvel at the voice's disappearance. And after that, confused by this foreign world you fell into, as well as your indecision over what you should do next, you didn't notice the changes that occurred in your own consciousness as a result. Now that your mind had settled and you were calm, you enjoyed the silence as you advanced through the snow-trodden path. It has been over a century since your thoughts and actions have been yours alone. 

You think back to Toriel. They were a strange person, having seemed more concerned over your body’s condition than you were yourself. They had kept their distance when you were wary and freely taught you their race’s history while you ate their food. 

For some reason, as you thought of them, a person who had brought to you some measure of warmth in that nothingness, the idea of failing their request made you feel uncomfortable. 

The effects of more than a hundred years of servitude under the voices' control were apparent. Even though you could no longer feel its presence within you, traces of what it so often whispered in your head still remained. Perhaps with time, these echoes and its ramifications will also fade. You were no longer forced to complete your quests, however, the decision to accept this mission had been entirely your own, and so, you would not fail. 

You would find and protect the child.

You duck under some wooden beams as you crossed the bridge, leaving the Ruin doors and series of tall trees behind. You were now in forest that consisted of smaller and shorter pines. Activating your sprint ability, your speed increases by 20% as you race through the snow-covered terrain. 

This world that you had fallen into was very strange. It was as if the rules of your abilities had been overwritten. Though you had no problem activating any of them, there was no longer a gauge to measure your Magic Points (MP). Rather than seeing your MP visibly reduce by checking your description box, you would gradually feel more and more exhausted as you used your skills instead. Fortunately, most of your abilities were melee-based, and thus, needed very little MP. 

The sprint ability was an exception, but it was also one of the few skills that you could use without having to exit stealth. Upon activation, it would grant you an additional 20% increase in speed but slowly seep away at your MP. Based on your current condition, you estimated that you had about 15 minutes left before you would start feeling tired.

You pass some house-shaped stations and slide across the frozen pond. As you progress further, however, you start noticing piles of some sort of grey matter littering the path. These piles grew with increasing frequency the further you went. 

Upon closer inspection, you found that they consisted of a fine, dry powder that was darker and greyer in comparison to the surrounding snow. The feeling that you got from these unknown mounds was faintly familiar. _Interesting._ There had been nothing like this in the catacombs.

After making a few wrong turns, you stop at a small, empty field. There was a single piece of paper lying on the ground. A jumble of words and letters covered the page, some of which you don’t recognize. You leave it behind and continue onwards. 

A wooden table was stationed randomly along the path. A plate of…something had been overturned and was now lying facedown in the snow. Bits of ripped up pieces of paper lay scattered beneath the table, along with the remains of a smashed-up rectangular machine. You wondered if the person who had done this was the same one that had broken the hidden contraption you found earlier. The one whose lenses had been smashed in with with a rock.

The following series of stops included finding several traps, similar to the ones in the Ruins. These ones did not seem to be active, however, as there were no spikes. You quickly moved through them, glancing curiously at the multiple blue X’s that cluttered the ground. Next, you pass by a floor divided into square tiles. Each tile was coloured by varying shades of grey and white. _How odd,_ you thought to yourself before leaving.

After skating across another icy field, also covered with blue X’s, you enter an enclosed tunnel. A pile of snow unexpectedly drops onto your head as you travel though it, deactivating your stealth. You exit the tunnel and shake off the snow. 

You don’t bother activating your stealth again as there doesn’t seem to be any monsters here. You haven’t met with a single living soul since leaving the ruins. 

The path in front of you was cluttered with numerous mounds. Other than the single grey pile lying next to the bridge, you notice that the rest are made of snow. You cross the bridge. 

At the outskirts of a small town, there was a large sign. WELCOME TO SNOWDIN, it read. _So that's what this place is called._

While the Ruins were generally quiet, it wasn’t deathly silent like Snowdin was. Something felt off about the entire situation, but you couldn’t quite wrap your head around why that was. Perhaps it was the lack of monsters despite there being numerous indicators of their usual presence. 

You walk leisurely through the abandoned town. It had taken you around 10 minutes to get here. You could sense the presence of life nearby, and so you head in that direction.

You notice that its starting to snow and the temperature drops even further upon leaving the town. Frost blooms on your leather armor, creating intricate and icy flower designs on the black surface. The wind picks up and rips through your hair as you head deeper into the blizzard, sending your white locks fluttering back. It was loud, as if the wind were howling for you to stay away. You squint your eyes. 

You could make out the distant silhouettes of two figures in front of you, but was unable to hear what they were saying. As you walked closer, the shorter figure abruptly leaps onto the taller one. They attack and the taller figure suddenly slumps over, their severed head falling to the ground. 

You arrive in time to see their skull dissipate next to their body. The dust collects onto the snow, forming into a familiar pile of grey matter. 

Suddenly, you understood. That fine, grey powder were the remnants of a body, and each of those piles had been a dead monster. Furthermore, the strange feeling you had gotten from observing them was due to the dissipated magic that was released upon a monster’s death. Based on what Toriel had told and shown you in the Ruins, monster magic was similar in nature to the aether that existed in your own world, Atreia. 

The child's back was turned towards you. You notice that the hand with which they used to grip the small, toy knife was trembling. _Are they cold?_

You remember that humans have weak physiques and were highly susceptible to the elements. Although the winds had already died down, its better if you could bring them out of this snowfall. Perhaps going back to that abandoned town would be the best course of action right now.

You walked closer, and the snow crunches softly beneath you. The child visibly stiffens at the sound. Their free hand clenches and unclenches at their side for a moment before relaxing. 

You were now right behind them, but what should you say? 

The toy knife drops from the child’s hand. It makes a muffled noise before disappearing into the snow. You hear them take a deep breath before turning around to face you, their expression was one that was stricken with fear. You wonder why they seemed so afraid.

You must not have been the person that they were expecting, because upon seeing you standing behind them, their eyes widen in surprise. You are still unsure of what to say, so you maintain your silence. 

Their shoulders drop, from relief or disappointment? You couldn’t tell. But, you are startled when the child suddenly emits a loud wail and barrels their tiny body towards you. 

You stay frozen as they cry into your stomach, their small hands clutched firmly onto your sides. You didn't understand why the child was crying, nor did you know the reason they had chosen to cling to you. Looking them over, it didn't seem like they had been physically injured.

Both of you stay in this position for awhile until you notice that they’re shivering. 

Shaking away your confusion, you remember your plans to take them away from this blizzard. You step back to explain this to them, but their grip on you only tightens in response as they follow after you. 

“…”

You look around helplessly. They shiver again, and this time their sobs are accompanied by a small cough. You steel yourself and crouch down, lifting them into your arms. They don’t resist and bury their small face into your chest as they continue to wail. 

You don’t say anything and leave the fresh pile of dust, along with the abandoned toy knife, behind, as you head back. 

The child must have been cold, because they had completely curled themselves around you by the time the two of you reached the edges of town. You notice that their hands, which had been resting against your shoulders, tighten into fists when you pass by a wooden house, decorated with red and green lights. You don’t comment on it.

They had stopped crying out-loud a few minutes ago, although their face was still hidden in your chest. You could hear them sniffle or hiccup now and then. Some of their hot tears dripped onto your hand as you carried them along, and were frozen by the cold air. 

You were slightly concerned about their coughs, which was occurring more frequently now. It has been over a century since you had to last worry about the cold. Thus, you currently had no idea how to proceed. Should you break down one of these wooden houses and start a fire? 

The child suddenly squirms in your hold. You look down and notice that they had stopped hiding their face in your chest and was now looking curiously up at you. You stare back, unsure of what to say. Should you ask them if they’re cold or why they were going around killing monsters? Do you tell them that you met Toriel or that you had accepted a mission to keep them safe? 

There was so much you could say, but none of them seemed right for this moment as you looked into their big, watery brown eyes, still reddened from their previous tears. So you did what you usually do in these types of situations, and spoke nothing at all. 

The two of you had now arrived at the other side of town. Along the way, the child in your arms had suddenly started making hand signs, to which you gently shook your head as you did not understand. Seeming frustrated by your incomprehension, they wiped the wet residue off their face before pouting. 

Currently, the child had crossed their tiny arms and was avoiding your gaze. They made no indication that they wanted to be put down, and clung onto you when you tried to do so, thus you ended up carrying them the entire way. 

The sound of crashing thunder suddenly roars from behind you, and you spin around. It was coming from the place you had just left. The thick, distant snowfall obscures your vision from seeing whatever it was.

The child was trembling again, more violently this time. You gaze at them in confusion upon noticing the fear etched onto their face, as they looked in the direction of the source. Had the sound startled them that much?

After a moment, you catch the brief look of determination in their expression before they turn to face you. The child gives you an apologetic look before tightly throwing their arms around your neck, as if suddenly afraid that you would disappear. 

You think that you saw something blue being hurled towards the two of you before everything unexpectedly goes white. 

 

* * *

* * *

* * *

 

**You wake up in a bed of golden flowers.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't get wait to get all the chapters posted back up. Hopefully, the next week and a half goes by quickly. Thank you to all the readers supporting me in the comments! (｡´ ‿｀♡)
> 
> See you in Chapter 6~ (I'msorrybutwe'rebackattheruins.)


	6. Love Me, Love Me Not

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You meet a not-so-friendly flower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! Thank you for reading. Kudos and Comments are always appreciated. ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎

You wake up in a bed of golden flowers. 

You don’t bother to look around as you continue to lay there, keeping your gaze trained on the familiar stalagmites that hung overhead. 

“…”

You internally sigh. This was the third time you’ve blacked out since entering this world, and not even a day has passed. The last time you remember having lost consciousness so often, and within such a short period of time, was during that one incident where you had somehow gotten yourself stuck in a death loop.

You had been tasked with retrieving a quest item from within a deep cavern, filled with large spider-like creatures. The spiders were stationed closely to one another, so if you alerted one, an entire swarm would descend upon you. At the time, you were only a low-leveled Assassin, and was best equipped to deal with single targets. Thus, you had brought some insurance with you as you mapped out the place. 

You had decided to place a small, transportable obelisk in an empty corner, and bound your soul to the relic. It was an expensive single-use item, but would allow a Daeva to revive at that particular spot should they die within an hour of time. 

Unfortunately, you had not expected that the place you chose just so happened to be the spider Queen’s resting spot. Twenty minutes into your exploration, you accidentally triggered a web trap and died under the barrage of fangs and venom. You woke up next to the relic, only to find yourself face-to-face with the Queen. You lost count how many times you were ripped apart that day before time finally ran out and you revived back at the nearest fortress.

In short, you were not well acquainted with losing consciousness so frequently. Being an immortal Daeva, unless your body was severely weakened or had died, sleep was both unnecessary and uncommon. After all, with such a massive war going on in your world, any hint of weakness would give your enemies an advantage to exploit. 

Your vision is suddenly covered by yellow. 

You sit up, noticing the ring of flowers that fall from your face. It lands beside you. 

The child, now with a flower crown on their head, giggles before reaching for the fallen ring. They stand up and place it on your head before taking a step back, admiring their work. You notice that they were still half a head shorter than your sitting figure.

You gently touch the crown on your head, brushing its soft petals with your sharp nails. You decide to leave it there. 

The child beams at you before suddenly climbing onto your lap. You stare at them silently as they pat your face with their tiny hands, as if making sure that you were real. Despite your confusion, they seem satisfied and rest their forehead against your chest. 

You place an arm around them protectively. It looks like the two of you had somehow teleported back into the Ruins.

After waiting a moment, you realize that the child would not be letting go of you anytime soon. You stand up slowly, carrying them like you had previously done. 

You leave the bed of golden flowers and exit the cavern. Upon reaching the next room, you notice that the child tightens their grip on your leather armor. They faced ahead, expression unreadable. 

You glance at the single, golden flower growing in the center of the room. It stood under a ray of sunlight, which illuminated a small bit of the darkness. You were sure that it had not been there before. 

When the two of you drew near, an amused face suddenly appears on the flower and it starts to speak.

“Really, Chara? Well, do what you will. I’ll be waiting for –”

The flower stops when they notice your figure. “…” Their eyes flicker back and forth between you and the child, before abruptly breaking into a friendly smile.

“Howdy! I saw you in the last run. You’re new to the underground, aren’tcha?” 

You continue to stare at the talking flower. With your senses, you should be able to detect all traces of life. So why couldn’t you sense that this flower in front of you was a living creature? It was as if they were not truly alive.

Seeming undisturbed by your lack of response, it continues on cheerily.

“Golly, you must be so confused! Well, I’m Flowey! Flowey the flower.” It introduces itself. 

You found that their name was rather easy to remember. 

Tapping its leafy arms against their face, the flower…Flowey appeared to be in deep thought. 

“Hmmm…Someone ought to teach you how things work around here!”

At Flowey’s words, the child in your arms suddenly becomes restless. They anxiously patted your shoulders for your attention and gestured wildly with their hands, but you couldn’t understand what they were trying to say. 

The flower ignores the silent conversion that was going on between the two of you and shrugs. 

“I guess little old me will have to do. Ready? Here we go!”

You feel a tugging sensation coming from your chest, which felt significantly stronger than what you had experienced back in the Ruins. You frown slightly at the unpleasant feeling and resisted. 

Flowey gives you an annoyed smirk when nothing happens. 

“Hey buddy, this isn’t how it’s supposed to work. Let’s try this again, okay?” 

Again, you feel a series of sharp tugs from your chest. It felt like the flower was trying to force something out of your body. You resist it once more. 

This time, when nothing happens, the child also looks up to you in confusion. You give their curious expression a questioning glance but they just shrug in response. 

Flowey seemed to have lost their patience, however. It glares at you angrily. 

“Is this a joke? Are you brain-dead? WHY. CAN’T. I. PULL. OUT. YOUR. SOUL???"

You are beginning to question the flower’s intentions. You gaze at them silently, categorizing them with cold eyes. 

Flowey’s expression was now twisted into something sinister, and his voice drops an octave lower. 

“You know what’s going on here, don’t you? You just wanted to see me s u f f e r.”

A ring of white, oval-shaped pellets suddenly surrounds you two. The flower’s face stretches into a menacing grin. 

**“Die.”**

Your eyes abruptly glow red as you internally categorize Flowey into the hostile group. A single thought surfaces from your mind when you see them attack. 

_Kill._

You hold the child close to your chest, using your free hand to pull out one of the daggers that was strapped to your back. At the same time, you activated your spell barrier skill.

A spherical, semi-transparent shield automatically opens up around you, encasing both you and the child within. The incoming pellets bounce harmlessly off its walls, and dissipate into the air.

“What the heck was tha –” 

You don’t give the flower time to finish and immediately activate your ambush ability after warding off their bullets. You instantly arrive behind them, dagger poised to strike their back. 

Flowey abruptly ducks underground and your attack slices into empty air. A miss. They surface approximately 8 meters away, looking a bit shaken. 

You muse over the idea of playing with them for a bit. This was your first fight since coming here, and you were rather curious about monster magic. 

You stare at the flower, eyes blazing red as you waited for them to make their next move. 10 seconds slowly ticked by and the silver barrier around you dissipates. They still haven't moved or spoken since reappearing, and you were beginning to grow impatient. 

“Ch…Chara?” They finally spoke, sounding unsure. They were looking at you with confusion written all over their face. 

You frown slightly. Chara? The flower had said that name earlier. Were they referring to the child? You looked down and realized that the child in your arms was currently trembling. Upon noticing your gaze, they take a quick peek at you. You felt them shudder once before suddenly ducking their head down again, as if afraid to look into your eyes. They were afraid of you?

You paused. An uncomfortable feeling slowly wells up inside of you. You were supposed to protect the child, not scare them. Had your actions earlier been too rash? You had thought about putting them down beforehand, but couldn’t confirm with absolute certainty that they would remain safe away from you.

At some point during all of this, Flowey had disappeared. 

You sheath your dagger and gently placed the child on the ground. They don’t cling to you this time and simply stare at the floor, looking like they were about to cry.

Toriel enters the room. Her expression fills with concern when she sees the small youth. “Hello… Are you alright?”

The child lifts their head upon hearing her voice. They turn back to face you, but… 

**_You were gone._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're officially at the half-way point to where this story last let off (Before my little "incident"). See you in Chapter 7! ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ


	7. The Second Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goat-Mom! (Plus a not-so-friendly flower x2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! Thank you for reading. Kudos and Comments are always appreciated. ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎

You were gone. Well, to be more precise, you had activated stealth. You stood in the same spot, but neither the child or Toriel would notice you there, hidden in the shadows.

For some reason, you just didn’t want either of them to see you right now. Not when you knew that the child was afraid of you. You understood. They had looked at you in the same way your assassination targets did. It was a gaze that was filled with a mix of both fear and helplessness. 

If your presence only serves to unnerve the child, then you would rather watch over them from the shadows instead. Failure of the mission was not an option, even if it meant that the person you were protecting the child from was yourself. 

In this world, you were nothing. An assassin who has lost both their aim and purpose was a useless existence. It was like falling whilst being unable to grasp onto solid ground. Thus, you felt very strongly about completing the sole task that you'd been given.

The child seems startled when they realized you weren’t there. They scanned the room, squinting their eyes at the darker corners of the cavern walls. Their face falls when they don’t find you. 

“Oh, is there someone else with you?” Toriel asks in a concerned voice, looking confused when she sees that the child is alone.

They shake their head, seeming disappointed with their own answer. 

Toriel introduces herself to the child before leading them into the next room. You notice that the child gives the spot where you were standing in a sad, departing glance prior to leaving.

You stay behind, unable to understand something. Why was Toriel acting like it was her first time meeting the child? According to her request and what she had previously told you, the two should have already met. Finding that you couldn’t think of a suitable answer, you dropped the matter for now and followed after them.

Upon reaching the entrance to the Ruins, you watch curiously as the child temporarily releases Toriel’s hand in order to frolic in a pile of red leaves. You could feel a distortion in the air between the two stairwells, where they had chosen to pause at earlier. 

You stop there, wondering why this particular spot felt strange. Besides getting the feeling that there was a faint charge of energy in the surrounding air, you don’t find anything else unusual about it.

In the next room, you are slightly surprised when you see that the purple door, the one you had previously carved through, was now standing there intact. Had Toriel replaced it? You glance at the child, unsure if you should lend them a helping hand. If you attacked it now, your stealth would deactivate and reveal yourself. 

You couldn’t help but raise a brow when the child, seeming undisturbed by the obstacle, decides to walk through the switches on the ground, avoiding the two stationed in the middle. They pull the lever and the door rumbles, slowly opening up from the center. _So it was some sort of puzzle,_ you think to yourself. You wondered if the traps you had seen in some of the other rooms could be similarly solved. 

They could. You watched as the child easily deactivates the spikes in the next room by pulling two of the three levers on the wall. You realize that the correct ones had been marked with yellow messages as you pass by. You didn’t bother to look around the last time you had been here, and simply jumped or dashed over all the obstacles you encountered. 

You follow closely behind the two as they continue their journey through the Ruins. You found more of those odd spots which felt faintly charged with energy. The child would often pause at these places, but nothing seems to happen. They weren’t getting hurt, so you simply ignored it.

The child stops in front of a monster-shaped (you assume) dummy. Toriel explains to them something about practicing how to handle monster encounters, encouraging that they hold a conversation with the monster until she can show up to diffuse the situation.

Immediately after their successful practice with the training dummy, the child bumps into one of the frog-like creatures scattered throughout the catacombs. You are alarmed when a palm-sized, glowing red heart suddenly floats out from the child’s chest. Even more so when the small monster summons a couple of white flies, which then begin to attack the floating heart. 

This was completely different from what you had experienced in the Ruins. Were you mistaken in categorizing these monsters as harmless? Furthermore, just what was that glowing heart-shaped thing that appeared from the child’s chest? You had never seen anything like it from the humans in your own world. 

You thought back to that tugging feeling you felt whenever you bumped into a monster in the Ruins, and as well as when you had met that hostile flower, Flowey. Was that what they were trying to pull out from you? Did you even have one? You shake your head. That wasn’t important right now. Perhaps these small monster in the Ruins were harmless to you, but right now they were being an obvious threat to the child. 

Your grey eyes briefly flash red at the thought. Should you kill it? 

You gaze coldly at the frog-shaped creature. The only reason why you haven’t taken action thus far was because you realized that the child was surprisingly good at dodging its attacks. It was strange. Despite the monster using magic against them, you couldn’t detect any hostility from either party. It was like neither of them wanted to fight. 

You could understand it if you only sensed this from the child, but why couldn’t you sense any hostility from the monster? You decided to wait and see how this would pan out. If they gave you any indication that they were harming the child, then you would immediately kill it.

You watch as the child picks up a nearby stick after dodging the monster’s attack. You thought that they were going to use it as a weapon until the child unexpectedly starts writing on the ground. You could clearly make out the words written in the dirt, which read: **I think you're ribbiting!**

The frog monster didn’t seem like they could read what the message said, yet blushed anyways. You looked on in confusion before Toriel abruptly stood in-between the two, tucking the child behind her. At her disapproving glare, the frog-shaped creature suddenly started to sweat and quickly hopped away. The child waved them goodbye. 

Eventually, after testing their independence in the next room, Toriel explained that she needed to leave the child alone for a while, and asked that they wait for her here. The child sat cross-legged on the floor and called Toriel a few times with the communication device she had given them. Listening to their conversation, you were surprised when the child spoke out loud. 

So they _can_ speak.

Their voice was rather quiet, muted even. The way they spoke a few short phrases, sometimes only giving out one or two worded answers, was familiar.

After you gave up your hopes on expelling the voice, you became detached and distant from those around you. You would only speak if spoken to, or if it was absolutely necessary, and felt that the less words you used, the better. It was easier that way. After all, at that point, you were just a puppet whose will and actions were not your own. 

It seems like after several decades, those habits were fully ingrained into you now. So even if you were currently free, you felt it quite bothersome to talk. Although this didn’t really bother you that much, you found yourself a bit curious over why the child also chose to behave this way. 

You touched the flower crown that still rested above your head. It managed to survive the journey relatively well, unlike the child’s, which had already unraveled. Some of the remaining golden flowers were stuck to their short, brown hair, making it look like they had just stumbled through a garden. You didn’t know why, but you felt the sudden urge to pick them off. Perhaps they wouldn’t notice if you did it carefully. 

The child continues to wait patiently in the room, their eyes were trained on the communication device as if they were waiting for something. You stealthily moved behind them so as to avoid their awareness and deactivated your stealth. 

Gently, you used the sharp talons on your thumb and index finger to pick up one of the flowers, pinching it by the stem. You were careful to not make any physical contact with their head. Using your free hand, you slowly brush away the tangled locks of hair before cautiously lifting it away and letting go. The detached flower flutters to the ground. 

You repeat this process until their communication device suddenly starts to ring, startling you from your work. 

Immediately returning to the shadows, you frown when you feel something unfamiliar. Wasn't your heart beating faster than normal? You place some effort into suppressing the feeling and it calms down soon after.

There was only a single golden flower remaining on the child’s head, resting just above their left ear. You felt that it somehow suited them there, so you decided to leave it. 

After listening to a series of short snippets from the calls, you realized that a small white dog had made off with Toriel’s device, who was now doing her best to get it back. The child amused themselves by listening to their numerous antics, giggling when the dog finally won out in the end. 

Seeming satisfied with the amount of time they had waited, the child chose to wander through the catacombs alone. You followed them silently. 

They had no problems solving puzzles and speedily progressed through the rest of the Ruins. The child only slowed down when they encountered other monsters. You watched with concern as a majority of these encounters led to some sort of fight. The child was confident in their dodges, however, and the magic attacks rarely hit their red heart, which manifested from their chest at the start of every battle. 

While you had the itch to kill off the dangers for the child in the beginning, watching them smoothly resolve each conflict without fighting fascinated you. Sometimes, the child would write compliments on the ground or refuse to make fun of them, other times they would dance or eat the magic food that was being thrown into the air. 

There was even an encounter with a sleeping ghost monster that you didn’t see the first time. The ghost attacked the child with their tears, and was pacified after being cheered up and given a compliment. You found it interesting to see how they approached each uniquely-shaped monster differently, and as well as the numerous ways monsters could manifest their own magic.

In one particularly memorial encounter, they met a monster that looked suspiciously similar to the Cippo Aether Jelly you carried in your inventory. The child started wiggling their hips in a ritualistic manner after dodging their attack, which consisted of some exploding white pellets, and unexpectedly, the gelatinous creature blushed in response. You wondered what their actions had meant.

At the entrance right before Toriel’s house, the child suddenly breaks into a sprint and runs to the end of the hallway. You follow them onto a balcony of some sort, and was surprised to see that you were now overhead the silhouette of an entire underground city. It looks like what you have explored thus far was only a small portion of the Ruins. 

You notice that the child picks up a familiar toy knife from the corner of the floor, their expression unreadable. Your suspicions grew. Did there just happen to be another toy knife lying around here or... was that the same one they left back in Snowdin? 

Your thoughts are momentarily interrupted when, the child abruptly rears back their tiny arm, and flings the knife over the balcony. Your gaze turns somewhat strange at their actions, but you followed the trajectory of the plastic toy. It vanishes into the dark nothingness below. 

They stood there for a moment, quietly staring out into the vast expanse of purple buildings. Long after they'd left, you lingered there for a while. 

By the time you returned, the child had already entered Toriel’s courtyard. They sat under a large tree in the center of the floor, surrounded by red leaves. The leaves were all scattered on the ground, while none lay on its branches, leaving them bare. 

The single tree, with its charcoal-like appearance, and a tiny figure leaning against its trunk, gave the courtyard a desolate feeling. 

After waiting approximately ten minutes, Toriel walks in, carrying a bag of groceries. She seems shocked that the child was waiting for her here. After confirming that they weren’t hurt and apologizing for taking so long, she led them inside. 

You waited patiently by the entrance as Toriel gives the child a tour of her house. Eventually, the child leaves for a nap and you wander into the kitchen to confirm something. A pie with a missing wedge sits steaming on the kitchen counter, it’s familiar sweet scent wafts through the air. You are starting to believe that whatever caused you to black out in Snowdin and arrive back in the Ruins, had sent both you and the child back in time. 

While it’s possible that Toriel just happened to bake another pie, their attitude with the child like they were meeting a stranger, the restored door you destroyed, plus the toy knife the child had discarded, all three of these incidents together was highly suspicious. 

You opened up your task box and a message plays inside your head. 

『 **Quest** :<A Mother’s Intuition> _You must protect the fallen human child as they journey across the underground.』_

Well at least your mission was still there, even if it wasn’t this Toriel who requested it of you. Your felt your stomach grow heavy at the thought. You didn’t need to hide from this Toriel in the first place as she would not have remembered you. For some reason, this thought made you feel uncomfortable. You were unwilling to reveal yourself now. 

_Protect the child._

All you had to do was protect the child. This was your task, the only thing you needed to concern yourself with. The knot in your stomach slowly dissolves. 

You return to the child’s room and sat next to their door, waiting. Eventually, the door creaks open and the child pokes out their head. They entered the living room where Toriel was reading. She tells them some facts about snails while they climbed onto her lap, claiming that she was very happy to finally have someone to teach. 

After a while, the child pulls out a sketchbook and some crayons.

“Oh, did you find those from the toy chests? You may keep them if you like.” Toriel smiles.

The child nods in response, then gives her an apologetic look. They scribble something onto one of the pages, holding it up for her to see. A mix of shock and sadness crosses Toriel’s face when she reads their message. 

“My child, this _is_ your home now. Would you like to hear some more snail facts?” 

The child shakes their head.

“Perhaps you would like to take a walk instead?”

The child shakes their head again, this time pointing to their message.

“… I understand. Please wait here, I have to do something.”

Toriel places the child down and heads downstairs. The child runs after them, and you follow them both.

In the basement, Toriel stops a few times to explain that if the child leaves, Asgore will find and kill them. She tells the child that in order to protect them, she will destroy the door to the Ruins’ exit. You don’t know how to feel about this as you continue to watch.

What you weren’t expecting, however, was a floating heart suddenly appearing from the child’s chest when the two finally reached the end of the first corridor. Toriel had initiated a fight with them. You didn’t understand. Didn’t she want to keep the child safe? Why not just kill the threat, Asgore, and be done with it? Why fight the child instead? 

_Perhaps she is unable to kill him._ From what she had told you last time, the king of the monsters was very strong. You could help with that. 

You watched as Toriel began summoning her magic attacks, which manifested into a series of fist-sized fireballs. This time, the child didn’t compliment, dance, or try to dodge, like they did with the other monsters. They just stood there and allowed the fire to hit them. This went on a few rounds and you were already gripping a dagger in your hands, ready to enter the fight at any time. 

Although some part of you felt a bit restless about killing Toriel, you wouldn’t hesitate if it came down to it. The mission took priority, but you could at least wait to see whether the child had some sort of plan or not. The look on their face wasn’t that of someone who had given up. 

After hitting them with her fireballs a few times, you notice that Toriel was wavering. Eventually, her attacks were directed away and she began to plead with them instead. The two finally came into an agreement and the battle ended. Toriel would let the child go, but they were never to return.

She apologized and gave them a hug before leaving. Staring at her retreating back, you wondered if she was heading to the bed of golden flowers. 

The child lingers there for a minute before continuing past the first door. They walked through the second series of corridors before reaching the final room. A familiar Flower was stationed in the middle of the floor, under the single beam of light. 

It looks nervous for a moment before realizing that the child was alone. 

“Looks like your friend isn’t with you this time. Did you kill them?” It asks cheerfully.

The child shook their head, frowning at the flower’s words. A sad look flashes across their face at the mention of you.

Flowey laughs.

“Hahaha…You’re not really human, so quit pretending to be one, Chara.”

Its face contorts into a sinister expression. You twirl the dagger in your hand, still hidden within the shadows as you listened in on their conversation.

“No. You’re just like me remember? Empty inside. We’re inseparable, even after all these years…”

The child shakes their head again and takes out their sketchbook. They scribble something onto one of the pages, holding it up for Flowey to see. 

The flower doesn’t look impressed.

“So it’s _you_ again, huh? Clever. Verrrryyy clever. You think you’re real smart, don’t you? Don’t think for a moment that you’ve won.”

Its face stretches into a menacing grin. 

“In this world, it’s still kill or be killed. So what if you can play by your own rules? I bet you feel really great, sparing the life of a single person. Those monsters in Snowdin weren't so lucky last time.” 

Flowey’s grin widens further.

“But what will you do if you meet a relentless killer? You’ll die and you’ll die and you’ll die, until you tire of trying. Then, when you finally give up entirely on this world… Chara will come back, I just know it.”

Its face bulges out and it emits a high-pitched laugh.

“I am the prince of this world’s future. Idiots like you, who keeps ruining our plans, should just **d i e**.” 

The child takes a step back, expression afraid. Your eyes glow red. That’s it. You were going to get rid of this flower.

**You were going to kill it _now_.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it's been a week, huh? I hope everyone is doing well~ (｡´ ‿｀♡)
> 
> I’m aiming to portray the characters to be as cannon as possible, with only a few plot-building devices that would still make sense within the context as a whole. If you ever notice any inconsistencies and contradictions in my writing, with either the plot or the characters, please feel free to let me know! Thank you for reading, I'll see you in Chapter 8.


	8. You've Got A Friend In Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You make a great first impression. 10/10.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! Thank you for reading. Kudos and Comments are always appreciated. ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎

You were going to kill it _now_. 

You dash in front of the child and activate your spell barrier skill, blocking the torrent of bullets that the flower sent flying. Your red eyes ablaze, you unsheathe both of your daggers and immediately activate massacre, sending one of your daggers hurling towards it. 

Flowey, shocked by your sudden and abrupt appearance, tries to escape via underground. It dives down and narrowly avoids the speeding dagger, which embeds itself deeply where the flower last stood. They don’t resurface. 

Your eyes narrow at the spot where it vanished and you take a moment to carefully refresh the spell barrier skill, making it so that it only shielded the child. You go and retrieve the thrown dagger, noticing the silver of yellow pinned beneath. You nicked it. 

A faint smile curls on the edge of your lips, at least it hadn’t gotten away unscathed this time. Massacre was a ranged magic skill which allowed you attack all targets within a 15-meter distance. Although limited to a straight line, the attack contained a slow poison effect. The flower had managed to avoid most of the physical damage involved in the strike, however, the effects of the poison would make sure that they felt a world of pain. 

You felt slightly disappointed that your attack hadn't managed to kill it, but protecting the child took priority. You were more suited to close combat so your ranged skills were few and subpar in comparison. Afraid to scare them again, you deliberately chose not to pick up the child this time, and thus, was unable to take full advantage of your stealth with a surprise attack. Blocking Flowey’s magic bullets instantly deactivated the skill, forcing you out into the open. 

It was a shame that Assassins were completely damage-focused and didn’t contain many support skills. If you had been partially a support-class type, then you could have automatically shielded the child with your barrier skill and gone in for the kill. Spell barrier only opened up in the space around you, and would remain that way unless you took some time to shift it away, like you had done earlier. 

You return both daggers to your back and suppress the surging adrenaline, waiting until the red faded completely from your eyes before turning back to face the child. You looked them up and down, relaxing slightly when you realize they were unharmed. The silver barrier around them automatically dissipates a few seconds later. 

You expressionlessly judged the look on their face. They didn’t seem afraid this time and their eyes were only widened in surprise. You contemplated whether you should head back into the shadows or give them an explanation for following them. About to reactivate stealth, you are frozen into inaction when the child suddenly runs over and clings to your side, shaking their head as if realizing that you going to leave again.

You stilled, lowering your gaze, only to be met with their pleading eyes. After a brief moment of silence, you softly questioned. 

“Scared?” 

The child, after looking slightly shocked from hearing you speak, firmly shook their head. They quickly scribbled onto their sketchbook and held up the words for you to read. 

[I’m sorry. Don’t leave.]

You didn’t understand what they were sorry for, but it seems like they wanted you to remain visible to them. You nod in agreement and they let out a sigh of relief, shoulders dropping. You figure that now was a good time to discuss some things.

“I will protect you.” You stated slowly, gauging their reaction.

The child seems surprised by your words before gazing into a corner of the room, quietly reflecting on something. Eventually, they nod their head in understanding and gave you a small, friendly smile.

[Why do your eyes change colour?] They wrote a moment later, an oddly serious expression on their face.

“I’m not human.” You reply simply.

Their eyes widen further as they stare up at you curiously.

[What are you then?]

“Race: Asmodian, Status: Daeva, Class: Assassin.” You reported in monotone.

Their brows furrow in confusion. You didn’t really expect them to understand. You had purposely left out the details since it was tedious to explain.

[Did you come from the surface?]

“No. Another world.”

Their stunned expression left you wondering if there were only two sentient races on Earth. Toriel mentioned that historically, humans and monsters ruled the planet until monsters were sealed underground a thousand years ago. You didn’t think much of it then, as Elyos and Asmodians similarly ruled over the shattered world of Atreia, but your planet also contained hundreds of other sentient races as well, including the alien Balaur who invaded centuries ago.

The child seems to recover from this piece of information a minute later, and they continue with their barrage of questions. You thought that you might as well get this over with now.

[What’s your name?]

“Reiquent.” 

[Where did you go earlier?]

“Invisible.”

[How do you do that?]

“Magic.”

[You can use magic???]

“Kind of.”

[You look pretty.] The child gives you a wink.

“…” 

You didn’t how to respond to that so you remain silent. After staring at them for a while, you decide to start asking some questions of your own.

“Chara?” You asked to confirm their name. After all, Flowey had called them that twice. 

Their eyes widened as they rigorously shook their head. 

The child flips back to the page they had scribbled for Flowey.

[I’m Frisk.]

So that was their name. Perhaps the two looked similar enough that the flower mistook one for the other. You ran things over in your head again, thinking if there was anything else you wanted to know. There were only three that were relevant to you right now.

“What was that red heart?”

[My soul. Why couldn’t Flowey pull yours out?] They asked in return, a mix of confusion and curiosity on their face.

“I don’t know.” You had felt a tug, but for some reason, unlike them, you were able to resist against the pull. 

They shrug as you mused over this new piece of information. So the floating red heart had been the child’s soul. You were fairly certain that taking magical damage was not good for it, but the child had been able to handle most monster attacks fairly well by themselves. You would consider your future responses to monster encounters with them later. 

“Did we go back in time?”

They nod in response, seeming happy for some reason. You didn’t bother to ask how, as it didn’t matter. With your previous suspicions confirmed, you asked the final question that had been bothering you. 

“Why kill in Snowdin?” You found it strange. The past two times, the child…Frisk had spared and made friends with everyone in the Ruins. You had seen how they interacted with monsters this second time around. They had never chosen to fight, so why kill everyone in Snowdin? 

Frisk visibly pales at your question. Their hands, which still held the sketchbook and crayon, begins to tremble. Noticing their reaction, you grew slightly concerned. Was that the wrong thing to ask? Eventually, they scribbled down an answer with shaking hands. 

[I’m sorry.]

Again, you don’t understand why they’re apologizing, but you drop the question. Instead, uncomfortable with their saddened expression, you change the subject.

“I will protect you.” You reaffirm. 

A look of shock flickers across their face as they stood there, looking a bit stunned. You watched them gradually relax before slowly breaking out into a smile again. You found it faintly surprising that those words had such a favorable effect on them. You'd have to remember that. 

[Friends?] They questioned after a minute, tilting their head to the side.

You blinked at the inquiry. Friends? It wasn’t that you didn’t understand the term. However, there was no such category for you to divide people in. There was generally only those you kill or those you don’t kill. Harmless, non-hostile, and comrade categories were labelled under don’t kill; Target, hostile, and enemy categories were labelled under kill. There was no friend category.

Frisk’s hurt and disappointed expression from your lack of response gave rise to feelings of restlessness. Emotional pain counted as harm, right? You frowned slightly, briefly contemplating over the situation before finally deciding on a solution. The simplest way to resolve this problem would be to create another category under the don’t kill label, but what counts as a friend?

“Definition.” You demand simply.

At your request, they raise their eyebrows in surprise, but it quickly changes into a look of eagerness as they start furiously scribbling into their sketchbook.

[A friend is someone you trust, protect, play and have fun with together!]

Trust? Play? Have fun? These were very unlikely scenarios for an Assassin. It was no wonder that you had no prior need for such a category. You suppose that since your mission was to protect Frisk, they would still fall under this definition. You decided that for future reference, anyone who fell under at least one of these 4 attributes would be categorized as a friend and labelled under the don’t kill list.

“I understand.” 

[So…Friends?] They asked again, expression hopeful. 

You nod in affirmation this time, mentally categorizing Frisk into your new friend category. 

Frisk beams in response and puts away their items, their arms outstretched and raised towards you. You stare at them blankly, not understanding their actions. Huffing at your incomprehension, they hug your waist and rest their forehead against your stomach. After staying in this position for a while, you take the hint that they weren’t going to let go and lift them into your arms. They seem satisfied and pat your face with their tiny hand.

It was time to go. 

You push the purple door with your free arm and it slowly opens, revealing the tall trees and narrow, snow-covered path again. You leave the Ruins and step out into Snowdin.

You notice that there is no scattered glass around the entrance this time. Peering into the stubby bush, you confirmed that the cylinder-shaped object remained intact. The child waves into the glass lens, to your confusion. You don’t comment about their actions and move on.

Stepping out onto the snow-trodden path, you narrow your eyes when you detect a faint trace of life nearby. You glance at the child, who was currently gazing out into the distance. Tapping them gently on the cheek, they turn their attention back to you with a curious expression. 

“There is someone ahead. Can you walk?”

Frisk nods their head and you place them on the ground. They looked to be afraid of something, so you spoke some words of reassurance.

“Remember, I will protect you.”

They nod again, seeming a tad more determined this time.

You activate stealth and disappeared into the shadows. They stare at the place where you were just standing in, surprise coupled with a hint of panic on their face. 

“I am still here.” You decide to tell them after a moment.

Their eyes widen at the sound of your voice, and they squint in attempt to see through your invisibility. After treading a circle around your spot with a look of fascination, they decide to head further down the path. You follow quietly after them.

There were two reasons that you decided it was better if the child went on ahead first, and without you visibly there beside them. One was to lower the monster’s guard so as to see their intentions, and the other was to leave the decision to fight or spare to Frisk. The choice of how to handle monster encounters would be solely theirs, and you would only act if they were in danger.

They walked through the narrow path for awhile before reaching a large branch, lying horizontally in the snow. Stepping over it, they continued on. You don’t think anything of it until a sharp, resounding snap stops you in your tracks. You see the child flinch briefly at the sound before resuming their regular pace. They don’t look back. 

You gaze down at the branch, which was now broken into three pieces. You could sense the faint aura of magic in the air. _Interesting._

Awhile later, you hear the crunching of snow behind you. You catch a brief glance of a dark silhouette before it immediately vanishes again. You raise a brow. Frisk doesn’t seem disturbed, however, and continues to walk. 

_This must have happened before._ You reasoned that since they were expecting it, you wouldn’t do anything just yet and keep observing.

Reaching the bridge with the wooden beams, Frisk suddenly stops moving. Before you could question why, the soft sound of crunching snow resumes. A hooded figure advances from the trees at an even pace, and stops behind them. 

There's a pause before a low voice greets the child, enunciating each word slowly. 

“ **H u m a n .** "

“ **D o n ‘ t   y o u   k n o w   h o w   t o   g r e e t   a   n e w   p a l ?** ”

“ **T u r n   a r o u n d   a n d –** ”

You sensed hostility laced beneath their words. Feeling a dangerous charge of magic in the air, you activate ambush and immediately leaped behind them, interrupting the monster's speech. Stealth deactivated from your actions, and you were instantly revealed. 

Your eyes were currently glowing red and a dagger was pressed firmly against the figure’s throat. 

“…”

“so kid, aren't you gonna introduce your buddy?”

**Frisk looks at you in horror.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who finally figured out how to add extra spaces between words and use the Comic Sans font? This guy >> ∠(ᐛﾉ ∠)_ 
> 
> Lately, I've been doing more research and am currently testing out some new HTML codes. Enjoy! See you guys in Chapter 9~


	9. The Skeleton Brothers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You meet Sans and Papyrus: the person you attacked and the person you watched die. Fun times for everyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! Thank you for reading. Kudos and Comments are always appreciated. ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎

Frisk looks at you in horror. 

Before you could decide whether the best course of action right now was to kill this hostile monster or leave it up to the child, Frisk runs up and starts tugging on your arm. They point to the dagger in your hand with an anxious expression, gesturing wildly. You give them a look of confusion, not understanding why they were suddenly behaving so strangely. 

Covering their face with a look of defeat, they gave the hooded figure, who had been watching quietly this whole time, a pleading look before quickly digging out the sketchbook and crayon from their pockets. 

[Stop! He’s a friend!] They hold up their message.

You stare at the worry on their face for a moment, frowning slightly. If they were a friend, then why did you sense hostility as well as a charge of magic aiming towards the child earlier? You return your gaze to the figure’s back. Other than the visible tenseness in their shoulders, your senses no longer detected any signs of danger emitting from them. 

Seeing your hesitation, Frisk gives you a look of disapproval. They scribble something else into their sketchbook before turning it back for you to read. 

[Bad. No fighting.]

You pause at their reprimand. You only wanted to keep them safe, but it looks like the child disliked your current methods of doing so. For the sake of completing your mission, it would be easier if they approved of your actions beforehand, lest you accidentally hurt them instead. 

Right now, the monster you had pinned with your weapon was no longer a significant threat. _The choice of how to deal with them should lie with the child_ , you reasoned.

Frisk releases the breath they were holding when your eyes flicker back into grey. You removed the dagger from the figure’s neck and return it to its sheath. The monster in front of you immediately flashes away, reappearing approximately three meters behind the child. 

Huh, so they can teleport. You wondered if their magic was bound to the same limits and distances as some of your own movement skills.

Facing you now with their hood down, you realize that this monster was in the shape of a short skeleton. They wore an unzipped blue hoodie over a white t-shirt, black shorts with white stripes running down the sides, and a pair of pink slippers? They didn’t seem nearly as sinister to you as before. 

While you were silently looking them over, the skeleton was similarly sizing you up. Their sockets were pitch black, save for the white eye lights that were currently gazing at you with a neutral expression. You found it interesting that they could achieve such a look despite the fact that their mouth was stretched into what seems like a permanent grin. 

A moment of silence passes between the three of you. 

You looked at Frisk, unsure how to proceed. They were currently sneaking glances at the skeleton with a nervous expression on their face. 

The skeleton’s gaze, however, was trained on you. The white pinpricks of light flickered between your eyes for minute before falling to your chest. You simply returned their stare, not sure what they were looking for.

You found that it was rather difficult to place them into a proper category. They were hostile in the beginning and threatened the child, so if it were up to you, this monster would be categorized into either the hostile or enemy group. However, Frisk considered them to be a friend, so you were not allowed to kill them. 

Yet, none of the categories under the don’t kill label suited the skeleton either. They were certainly not harmless, as evident of your senses having warned you of danger, but neither did they fall into the non-hostile or comrade group. You considered the new friend category that you just created, but found no desire nor a reason to protect this monster, and you certainly did not trust, want to play with, or have fun with them. 

_How vexing. Forget it, I’ll figure it out later._

After staring at you for a seemingly long period of time, the skeleton finally looks away and lets out a sigh. Their smile was strained, and their eyes betrayed a look of frustration. Eventually, they made their way closer, stopping just a meter in front of you with an out-stretched hand.

You give Frisk a questioning glance, not sure what was being asked of you. They seem confused for a moment before a look of understanding suddenly flashes across their face. They quickly scribble something into their sketchbook, holding it up for you to read. 

[It’s a greeting. Shake it.] 

You do as they say, careful to avoid scratching their phalanges with your sharp talons. A strange noise permeates through the air when your hand clamps onto theirs. 

_**PPPPPFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFAAAAAAAART!** _

The child giggles behind them and the skeleton’s expression relaxes somewhat at the sound.

“heheh…the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. it’s _always_ funny. ”

You don’t know how to respond so you maintained your silence. The skeleton pauses awkwardly a second later. 

“…”

“that’s, uh. your cue to laugh. or, uh, to emote at all…?”

Laugh? You didn’t really feel much of anything right now, so you dismissed their request.

The skeleton simply shrugs at your lack of response before closing their eyes.

“ok, that’s fine. everyone’s got their own sense of humor.”

When their sockets open again, the eye lights have abruptly gone out and their expression turns eerie.

“… **Just so happens that I like practical jokes and you like to threaten monsters.** ”

You didn’t know what to make of their words. Everything was to complete the task you had been given, and there would be no exceptions. 

Frisk walks over nervously, not having seen the exchange between the two of you as the skeleton was now facing away from them. The light suddenly returns to their eye sockets and the skeleton looks away.

“i’m just joking with you.” They wink at you with their right eye. 

Somehow, you get the feeling that they were serious. The child, now at your side, looks up at you with a worried gaze. Not knowing how to make them feel better, you take off the flower crown, that had somehow managed to survive your journey through the Ruins, and placed it on their head before giving them a reassuring pat. They beam at you in return and clutch onto your right hand. 

A tiny look of surprise flashes across the skeleton’s face before it immediately disappears, their expression a neutral grin.

“anyways, you two are human, right?”

Not really, but you don’t bother to correct them. 

“that’s hilarious. i'm sans, sans the skeleton.” They introduced themselves. Their name was short, you thought. _Easy to remember._

“i’m actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now. but…y’know…i don’t really care about capturing anybody.”

The skeleton – Sans, turns his gaze to you.

“now my brother, papyrus… he’s a human-hunting FANATIC.”

You narrow your eyes at this new piece of information. You had heard previously from Toriel that there were six humans who fell down before Frisk, and none of them made it out of the underground alive. You figured that most monsters were not keen on letting humans return to the surface after being trapped by them for over a millennium. 

Looks like the animosity against the human race was thick enough down here that human-hunting has become a sport of some kind. Perhaps that was why so many of the monsters in the Ruins had decided to attack the child on sight.

You are suddenly reminded of the ways your own kind would sometimes pass the time in-between their missions. 

Because of the distortion in the fabric of space-time that occurred due to the shattering of the Tower of Eternity, rifts appear within the upper and lower halves of the planet Atreia (Asmodae and Elysea), even though they lie away from the chaotic Abyss connecting the two. 

After some time passed since the discovery of these rifts, and numerous exploration expeditions, a few stable ones were discovered to appear and disappear at the same place under a fixed schedule. Some of these stable rifts allowed Daeva belonging to one half of the planet to travel to the other half, which was how Asmodians and the Elyos first discovered the existence of one another, centuries after the Millennium war had divided their ancient race.

As knowledge of these rifts, plus the animosity and competition between both sides, grew, the Asmodians and Elyos began forming hunting expeditions. In their free time, away from the on-going war in the Abyss, some Asmodian soldiers would charge through the rifts into Elysea and try to kill off as many Elyos as they could before returning or reviving back in Asmodae. 

Assassins were often best suited to do this or spy in on enemy territory as their stealth made them undetectable to most classes. Others, usually the more slow moving attack and defense classes, would wait for Elyos soldiers under rifts that led into Asmodae, massacring them as soon as they appeared. 

This sort of meaningless slaughter only furthered the hatred between the two factions. You found it rather distasteful and pointless, as other than momentarily annoying the other side and costing them a few hours of time, it did nothing to further the war. They’d simply come back.

Other than collecting information for a few missions, you had not chosen to participate in such activities. What you _did_ enjoy doing, however, was sneaking into Elysea to bask in the everlasting sunlight there. Although, that too, gradually fell into nothing. 

You felt the warmth of the Sun's golden rays less and less as the voice’s influence on you grew. Eventually, you found yourself no longer bothered by the constant darkness and bitter cold that filled your own land. 

A voice worms its way into your consciousness, whispering in your ears. _An assassin doesn’t need to feel anything. You are nothing…_

You felt a tug on your hand, pulling you out of whatever stupor you had unknowingly fallen into. You blinked, the visions of your race and homeland gradually fading from your thoughts. You needed to stop doing that. These memories were constantly replaying inside your mind.

_But why?_

No. You shake your head, doing your best to suppress the chill that threatened to invade your body. Now wasn’t the time. You needed to focus. 

Another tug and your vision clears a little more. Frisk was standing in front of you, holding onto both of your hands. They looked concerned. 

You glance down, their hands were so tiny that they practically disappeared in your own. They felt warm and soft, unlike yours that were sharp and callused. You held onto them. The small warmth seeped into your palms, eating away at the cold. 

Sans’ eye lights flickered back and forth between the two of you for a moment, before stopping at you. He gazes at you strangely.

“you’re uh, looking pretty chilled to the bone there, bud.”

Frisk shot him a look of exasperation. They let go of your hands to pick up their sketchbook, and for a minute, your hands felt empty. You quickly dismissed the thought.

[Are you ok?] 

You gave them a nod. They didn’t seem convinced and was about to write down something else when the skeleton suddenly cuts in. 

“so as i was saying, my brother is a human-hunting _fanatic_. hey, actually, i think that’s him over there…  late for once.” 

You hear him mutter the last part to himself.

Sans returns his attention back to the two of you. “i have an idea. go through this gate thingy.”

You glance at the bridge with the wooden beams. _This was supposed to be a gate?_

“yeah, go right through. my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone.” 

The three of you make your way past the bridge, arriving at the end of the tall canopy of trees. To your left, there was one of those house-shaped stations that you had previously seen scattered throughout Snowdin forest. An odd, blue object sat next to it. 

“quick, behind that conveniently-shaped lamp.” 

Frisk immediately hid themselves behind it. To your surprise, the lamp was perfectly molded to cover their silhouette. Convenient indeed.

For some reason, the two of you had to hide now. Looking around, there didn’t seem to be another lamp that was conveniently shaped to cover you, so you simply activate shadow walk and disappeared into the shadows.

“uh, i guess you can hide behind my sentry – ”

Sans turns to face you, stopping mid-sentence when he realizes you aren't there. His lazy grin freezes instantly.

“…”

You watch as another skeleton makes their appearance. This one was taller than Sans, and wore chest armor, blue briefs, and a golden belt. They also had on some flashy red gloves, boots, plus a long trailing scarf. A tight, black suit was worn underneath everything, covering their bony limbs. 

You felt that this new skeleton, whose jaw was currently set into a tight, stern frown, looked familiar. An image of when you first met the child flashes through your mind. That’s right. You've seen this skeleton before. They were the monster that the child decapitated when you finally caught up to them in Snowdin last time. You had witnessed them turn into that weird, grey substance after they died.

You rest your gaze back on Sans. _So the two of them are brothers._ If you recall correctly, this one was named… Papyru? Paprika? Papaya. 

No. None of those seemed right. You’d figure it out later.

“sup, bro?” Sans' face quickly morphs back into its previously relaxed and casual state. A bead of sweat runs down the side of his skull.

“YOU KNOW WHAT ‘SUP,’ BROTHER! IT’S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN’T… RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES!”

Papyru’s voice booms loudly, echoing down the forest. By the sound of frustration in his voice, he doesn't seem to be in a good mood.

“YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION. WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?” 

“staring at this lamp. its really cool. do you wanna look?” 

You narrow your eyes at the smaller skeleton before shifting your gaze to Frisk, still hiding behind the lamp. Was he giving away their location?

“NO!! I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!! WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE!?! I WANT TO BE READY!!!”

Paprika stamps his foot impatiently in the snow.

“I WILL BE THE ONE, I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN!”

You frown slightly at the declaration. Looks like there really is some sort of human-hunting sport going around in the underground. This Papaya must be kept away from the child.

“THEN, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS… WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE! RESPECT… RECOGNITION… I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD.”

Papyrus. His name was Papyrus.

**Papyrus must be kept away from the child.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fart in this chapter is courtesy of "Murder with a Side of Lies" by Darkhymns. 
> 
> Hey guys! Only half a week left before we're back on track! See you guys in chapter 10! The bunny's back as a consolation prize:  
> {\\__/}  
> ( • - •)  
> / . . \ "... feed me."


	10. It's Snow Joke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Frisk make an interesting team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! Thank you for reading. Kudos and comments are always appreciated. ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎

_Papyrus must be kept away from the child_ , you decide. 

Your gaze drifts back to Frisk. They stood obediently behind the lamp, giggling silently to themselves every now and then. Papyrus was still bickering with San, and from his increasingly loud volume, the latter was doing a good job of infuriating him somehow. 

The two were discussing something about skeletons and bones. You thought that you could hear the sound of drums, or a clashing symbol, occasionally being played in the background. Their quarrel reminded you of the strange passage you read from Toriel’s journal. Something about skeletons and misspelling the word lonely. You didn’t understand.

Looking at the child, you thought of their disapproval when you attempted to protect them from short skeleton. Your brows furrow slightly.

 _Perhaps it would be better to go along with things for now._

After all, the child seemed like they knew what they were doing. You only needed to stay beside them and watch.

You relaxed a bit of your guard when the taller skeleton eventually decides to run up ahead, the sound of his laughter trailing behind him. Sans examines the area around you, the casual posture he had when speaking with Papyrus was gone and his smile seemed tight. He stared at the spot you were standing in for a moment before turning back to face the lamp.

“ok, you can come out now.”

Frisk peeked their head out and looked around for you, frowning slightly when you didn’t reappear. They waited for another minute and when you still didn’t reveal yourself, they went to chat with Sans. You remained in the shadows. You didn’t trust the skeleton brothers. Their intentions were clear. Papyrus wanted to capture the human to further his position and Sans… 

Well, he both hid the child and gave away their location twice, but that wasn’t the problem. You knew that the hostility he aimed toward Frisk during their initial encounter wasn’t just your imagination. Your senses were always accurate. You needed to keep an eye on him.

The child continued their conversation with the short skeleton while you mused over the situation. Stealth was necessary for executing surprise attacks, but if someone were to know about the skill beforehand, then it would decrease the likelihood of success if you were to use it against them later. Their guard would be up, and you didn’t want to unnecessarily reveal your abilities to a potential enemy.

So far, with the exception of Flowey, all the monsters that you’ve met up until now has been either non-hostile or harmless to you. However, currently, your knowledge about monster magic was severely lacking, and you still weren’t clear on the limits of your own abilities in this world. The danger you detected from the skeleton earlier had raised some internal alarms. Something about their magic felt disconcerting to you. 

_The best course of action right now is to bide my time until I'm able to find more information._ To an Assassin, overconfidence was like a deadly poison, something to be avoided.

You were about to head further down the path to deactivate shadow walk, out of their line of sight, when a thought strikes you all of a sudden and you stop. Didn’t Sans attempt to scare the child multiple times after the two of you exited the Ruins? The snapping branch, the mysterious appearances and disappearances. Your gaze rested silently on the skeleton standing a few meters in front of you. What if you did the same thing?

A strange urge begins to stir inside of you. It was an itchy sort of feeling that you couldn't identify, except that it seemed to be pushing you to act. Your grey eyes glimmered slightly with a tinge of silver as you made your way around the two, stopping just behind your target. 

The rational part of your mind makes another attempt to suppress this sudden impulse, and you hesitate as thoughts of compromising the mission flashed through your head. Ultimately, however, your desire proves louder and the feeling wins over. 

You throw caution out the window and deactivate your stealth behind Sans. 

Frisk widens their eyes at your abrupt appearance. You gaze down quietly at the monster in front of you, waiting for their reaction. 

“…don’t worry, he’s not dangerous. even if he tries to be. thanks a million. i'll be up ahead.”

Sans pauses at the surprise on the child’s face before looking back.

“…? what are you lookin– ”

He freezes when he sees you. His eye lights shrink into tiny pinpricks and his smile goes rigid. Another bead of sweat slides down the side of his skull as the two of you engage in a second stare-down. 

You don’t know why, but the sight of his startled expression gives you an odd sense of satisfaction, appeasing the itch you felt before. You marvel at the pleasant, yet foreign, feeling while the other recovers from their shock.

To his credit, Sans composed himself rather quickly. If it weren’t for your keen senses, you might have missed the tiny changes that occurred in his expression. After discovering you behind him, he immediately went back to his neutral, relaxed grin. Although, you could still see a bit of tenseness in his shoulders. His gaze now carried a look of caution. 

The skeleton gives you a questioning glance, breaking the silence.

“so…are you just gonna stare at me, or…?” 

Having thought of nothing to say to him, you remain silent. Frisk, frowning worriedly at the interaction between you two, makes their way over to your side and tugs on your hand, signaling that it was time to go. You nod and let them lead you out of the canopy of tall trees. 

Just as you were about to enter into the forest of pines, however, Sans’ voice stops the both of you.

“well, i'll be straight-forward with you. my brother’d really like to see a human. so, y’know, it’d be really help me out…if you kept pretending to be one.”

The child flinches and the skeleton heads back toward the bridge, disappearing down the path. Somehow, you get the premonition that he was talking to you. 

After stepping into the forest of coniferous trees, Frisk lets go of your hand to pause at a spot to the left. It was one of those places that felt strangely charged with energy. _So its not just in the Ruins, but here as well._

You waited for their return. When they came back, they looked up at you with a conflicted expression before slowly reaching for their sketchbook.

[Can you see it?] 

You glance at the spot. You couldn’t see anything, but you could definitely feel that something was there.

You shake your head in response to their question. The child sinks into deep thought for awhile, flickers of both relief and disappointment flashed across their face. At your questioning gaze, they simply gave you a small smile before shaking their head and pulling you forward. You went along. 

The child stops in front of a short, brown cubic box. A sign stationed on the right of the box explained that it was for storage purposes and items could be retrieved from boxes stationed further down the road. The concept was similar to the storage space in your own world, where you could deposit items in banks that were scattered around various different fortresses, and then retrieve the stored items elsewhere. 

Frisk pulls out an item identified to you as a tough glove. They placed it next to the box and stored in the faded red ribbon, that they picked up from the Ruins, and a purple doughnut, that they bought from the spider bake sale. Seeming satisfied, they grabbed the gloves and ran north. You followed after them, curious over why they were headed towards the river.

Next to the riverbank, the child kneels down and peers into the water with an unreadable expression. They stare at their distorted reflection for a moment before abruptly dropping in the tough gloves. The item lands in the cold river with a plop, disappearing into the rushing depths. 

You are surprised. Didn’t they do something similar with the toy knife in the Ruins? You wondered if there was some sort of hidden meaning behind their actions, but decided not to comment on it. As long as they remain unharmed, they could do whatever they want.

After discarding the tough gloves, the smile on their face returned and they seemed happier than before. Frisk nearly bounced over to you, reaching up with their tiny hands. You understood this time and lifted them up before heading back. They nestled in your arms.

Down the path, which led deeper into the forest, a feathered bird-like monster tumbles out of the snow and flutters forth. It seems startled by the sight of you two. 

Again, you feel a tug from your chest and resist it. You stare down at the creature, resisting its next series of pulls. It nervously ruffles its feathers. Soon after, a familiar glowing-red heart floats out in front of you. You narrow your eyes at the monster. They had switched targets. 

Your attention is diverted by Frisk, who pats your shoulder. They held up their sketchbook for you to read.

[Can you dodge the attacks?]

You nod. Evasion was one of your class’ greatest strengths. 

[Nice. Let me handle the fight then. You just dodge, ok?]

You nod again. It was admittedly a good set-up. You could experience different forms of monster magic first-hand like this. Moreover, you felt more reassured with the child safely tucked away in your arms. You wouldn’t let even a single attack reach their soul. 

Interestingly enough, as soon as you agreed, a message plays inside your head.

『 **[Recruit Group]** : _You have invited **Frisk** to join the group. Become the leader?_ Accept [ ] Decline [ ]』

So you can still form parties in this world. _I accept._

The functions of group membership allowed you to see the child’s stats. The MP bar was still missing, but you could tell that they were level 1 and their HP was 20/20. You stare at the numbers. Why were they so low?

“…”

As you looked over their stats, Frisk was staring straight ahead with a strange expression on their face. Eventually, they pulled themselves together and patted the side of your cheek for attention. You glance at their sketchbook. 

[I heard a voice in my head asking me if I wanted to join your group.]

“Did you accept?”

They shook their head. 

[I don’t know how.]

You thought for a moment. How could you explain this to them briefly? 

“Think or say the phrase ‘I accept.’” You respond simply.

You receive another message after a few seconds.

『 **[Group]** : _**Frisk** has joined the group._ 』

You looked down. The child was staring at you with wide eyes.

“What do you see?” You ask, curious.

[Your LV looks like ??, but I can see your HP. Why do you have so much?]

“I’m not human.” 

They don’t seem satisfied with your answer and gaze up at you skeptically.

“My armor and weapons.” You finally added.

[They increase your HP?] 

Well, they increased a whole bunch of your other stats too, but this topic was getting too tedious for you to explain. You simply nodded in response. 

“Better not snow ‘flake’ out!” The monster in front of you suddenly blurts out. Seems like it had grown impatient after watching the two of you chat, ignoring its presence. 

_*Snowdrake is smiling at its own bad joke._

You blinked. Whose voice was that? Your gaze rested on Frisk. Before you could inquire further, however, crescent-shaped projectiles appear in the air around you, flying toward their floating soul. They moved in straight lines from all directions.

You evade the feathery bird’s first attack with ease, sidestepping away from the summoned magic in a rhythmic pattern. Their red heart moved with some lag, but accurately followed after your dodges. The child smiles brightly, seeming happy that their suggestion was working. 

Following the end of the monster’s attack, an interesting screen appears inside your mind.

**[! FIGHT] [+ ACT] [@ ITEM] [X MERCY]**

_This must have something to do with the child_ , you think to yourself. Perhaps they had their own system in this world, something similar to your own, which notified you of important information and managed your tasks. 

You could feel that you had no control over the options provided, but was able to see Frisk select ACT, bringing up another series of choices. They decided to check the bird, and the unfamiliar voice returns, narrating a set of stats. A short description of the monster appears soon after.

 _*SNOWDRAKE….6 ATK….2 DEF_  
_*This teen comedian fights to keep a captive audience._

You frown slightly at the bird’s low stats, but you couldn’t conclude anything just yet. This affirmed your earlier guess, though. The child did indeed have their own separate system. It's likely that theirs had somehow intersected with your own after joining a common party. 

_Interesting. I wonder what the other options do._

“M..m..macaroni and ‘freeze.’” The monster stumbles over its own words, sounding unsure of itself. You remain bewildered by its attempt at a joke.

_*Snowdrake is assessing the crowd._

The feathery monster decides to string its next series of magic attacks together. The crescent projectiles transform into numerous flying snakes. The magic slithers in a wiggling fashion toward the floating heart. You maneuver carefully around them, avoiding their attempt to trap the two of you in a corner. 

You notice that whatever kind of system Frisk had available to them, there were certain rules to be followed. For example, neither they nor the monster could attack or act twice in a row, and there was a limit to how far the child's soul could move. This was drastically different from your own fighting system, which allowed you to attack and maneuver around as much as you want. 

If your kind had to take turns to attack one another, then it would take a mind-numbingly long period of time before one side left victorious. Plus, different classes had different forms of combat. Assassins sought to ambush their targets, relying on their stun-locking capabilities and high bursts of damage to take down their opponents quickly. Drawn-out fights were disadvantageous to you. 

You continued to dodge the bird’s attacks, not allowing its magic anywhere near the child’s soul. Frisk experimented with your new partnership for awhile, shifting their floating heart in all sorts of directions. After seeming satisfied with the results, they laughed at one of the monster’s jokes. 

Their actions were proven to be effective, as the feathery creature cheered happily to itself before fluttering off, ending the battle. 

You head down the path again, carrying the child. This encounter had furthered your understanding of the nature and concerns associated with fighting monsters. It didn’t seem too dangerous for Frisk as long as they had sufficient HP and time to pacify their opponent. 

Up ahead were the skeleton brothers, standing several meters away. You manage to hear the end of their conversation as you make your way over.

“SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE…!”

The taller one abruptly stops after catching sight of you two. You can’t tell whether the expression on his face is a look of shock or excitement. 

“…”

**They’re spinning.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good news! I've finished writing Chapter 14. Right now, I'm doing my best to guide these wandering bumblebees into Snowdin Town. Hopefully they'll get there by Chapter 15. *Cracks knuckles* That's when the _real_ fun begins. Wish me luck~
> 
> Thank you all for the wonderful comments! I love reading them. See you in Chapter 11 (´∀｀)♡


	11. A Skeletal Inquiry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Surprise Sans POV! The skelly is still a lil bit salty bout the whole sharp object under the vertebrae thing.
> 
>  **[04/10/2018 Please Note]** : I'm still unsatisfied with this chapter! It is being re-written again. I'll get it right this time~ (￣ヮ￣；)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! Thank you for reading. Kudos and Comments are always appreciated. ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎

After the two of you left his sentry station, Sans looks back toward the Ruin doors, pondering to himself. 

Honestly, he didn’t know what to make of you. However memorable, his first impression of you hadn’t exactly been a good one. 

When Frisk exited the Ruins, he trailed after the kid with his usual antics. It had become a way for him to test whether the run-through was going to be a good or bad one. 

Despite his usual awareness, however, he didn’t notice your presence until your weapon was pressed firmly underneath his skull. 

Stunned by the heavy pressure you emitted from behind, he had a feeling that if he so much as indicated he was about to move or summon a bone attack, you would have dusted him right there. So he went against his initial instincts and retracted his magic, forcing himself to relax. 

He directed his attention to the kid instead, searching their face for an explanation. As far as he knew, this wasn’t how it was supposed to go. 

Frisk had seemed equally shocked and surprised by your actions. Sans watched quietly as the kid tried to get you to lower your knife. He wasn’t going to bet on anything just yet, but so far, things were looking pretty good on their end. 

He figured that maybe he'll get a break from them this time, that is, if you didn’t dust him first. 

Strangely enough, the way the kid was reprimanding you reminded him of how Papyrus reacted, when he found out one of the sentry dogs made off with a piece of his bone collection again. 

When scolded by the kid, you carried the same blank look and reluctance, as the sentry dogs after getting an earful from his brother. Sans probably would have found it funny, if the sharp edge of your blade wasn’t a fraction away from killing him. 

When you finally lowered the weapon from his neck, he had taken the opportunity to immediately put some distance between you two. 

His first thought was that your expression was surprisingly blank. You didn’t wear the look of someone who had just threatened his life. 

He wasn’t sure if that was a good sign. 

Your grey eyes reflected nothing, and he could barely make out the flickers of caution and doubt in your gaze. He took in your appearance, which was pretty different from what the kid looked like. 

One noticeable difference, was that the sides of your face were lined with silver drawings that ran down to your neck, disappearing underneath the collar. They were almost invisible against your already pale skin. 

Your hair was also bone-white, a stark contrast to the weird, black clothes you were wearing, which fit snugly against your lean figure, outlining the toned muscles underneath. You were tall, probably around the same height as his brother. 

Whatever it was that you were wearing, it didn't cover much of your upper body. Despite that, you didn't really seem bothered by the cold. 

There was a good reason why the crowding issue in the Capital, New Home, hadn’t extended to Snowdin town yet. Other than the furrier (or bony) folk, most monsters, with skin, nerves, and all that other extra stuff, found Snowdin tibia pretty bone-chilling place to live. 

Sans stops and inwardly snickers at this own bad puns. Papyrus would've _loved_ that one. 

But, thinking back, it was pretty odd. Humans were normally sensitive to extreme temperatures, right? Even the kid shivered every so often. 

The only exception was when– 

Sans quickly shuts down that thought. He didn’t really need to be thinking about it right now. _one issue at a time._ Deciding he could use a walk, he begins to head in the opposite direction that you two went. His slippers leave soft indents in the snow, trailing alone behind him. 

If Frisk was the epitome of ‘seemingly harmless’ then you were their exact opposite, and he wasn’t just judging you based on your looks, either. He could practically _see_ the title 'obviously a threat' hovering over your head. 

That said, what he'd been most concerned about were the two knives strapped to your back. You’d already given him front row seats to what they felt like up-close, and needless to say, those things sent large warning bells ringing through his skull. 

Sans vaguely remembers seeing some kind of poster at the dump, with a few characters carrying their weapons behind them in an X-shape, like you did. He’ll have to check with Alphys on that later. 

Just the question of why you were carrying dangerous-looking weapons in the first place was already giving him a headache. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know if you were regularly using them. 

Crossing the bridge, and his brother’s haphazard gate, Sans looks down at the bottomless trench below. 

With the kid, it wasn’t too hard to tell where they were at all times. They were like a beacon in the underground, their tracks distinct and easy to spot. 

You, however, somehow had the uncanny ability to pop in and out of existence around him, and he would be none the wiser. If it weren’t for the fact that he didn’t notice any distortions whenever you vanished or reappeared, he would have suspected that you had access to the same ‘short-cuts’ he did. 

Something felt off about you and Sans couldn’t quite place the feeling. He could only tell that you had an unusually strong presence. 

When he decided to check you for EXP (out of suspicion), he was surprised to discover that he couldn’t see through you at all. It was like there was some sort of unique barrier around your soul, blocking him out. 

Sans knew he was being rash. It was too soon to try and form a proper judgment on you. 

Usually, he was pretty patient when it came down to this sort of thing, always waiting till the kid got to the judgment hall at least. Your appearance this time just seemed to naturally unnerve him. The signs that warned him of a potential bad time with the kid was being completely turned upside down. 

After all, your initial reaction had been to immediately dust him with a weapon, yet for some reason, you kept listening to the kiddo. You didn’t laugh at his whoopee-cushion handshake, but when it came down to his advice to hide from Papyrus, you went on and literally disappeared. 

Sans sighs, tearing his gaze from the void beneath him. He stuffs his hands into his pockets. Maybe a longer walk would help cool off his head. 

 

* * *

* * *

* * *

 

On the road ahead, Sans met up with Papyrus. His brother stopped for a minute to tell him about his recent training session with Undyne. 

Towards the end of their conversation, you had shown up carrying Frisk. To his surprise, the two of you were rather close. 

You expressed approximately the same level of emotion that he’d expect from an ice-cube, but whenever the kid indicated that they were upset, your eyes would suddenly flash with concern. He couldn’t get a good read on you. Nothing in this run-through was going the way he'd expect.

He didn’t know how things would go this time, but he hoped that you’d at least play along with the kid. It would make his brother happy. 

Frisk wore a patient smile on their face as he and Papyrus spun. Sans stops first, and proceeds to watch in amusement while his brother continues to energetically twirl on the spot, slowly processing the fact that _two_ humans had suddenly appeared in front of him. 

He had to admit, he felt the urge to laugh when he stopped and saw your reaction.

You stared at both of them with an almost comically serious expression on your face, considering the setting. You looked like you were trying hard to solve a puzzle, and it was clear that you didn’t understand the japery that was going on between him and Papyrus. 

Sans finally let himself relax a tiny bit, his smile appearing slightly more casual and genuine. 

He had been feeling pretty irritable and on-edge with the _sharp_ greeting you had given him earlier. Coupled with the whole disappearing and reappearing act you had going on, you seemed to be going out of your way to make him as uncomfortable as possible. 

The worst part of it was that he couldn’t tell if you were doing any of it on purpose. For all he knew, you could just be messing with him.

Never mind keeping an eye-socket on the kid, he had a feeling that he needed to keep all of his senses up and running around you, just in case you tried pulling a stunt like that on him again. He had been internally sweating bullets earlier.

 _you'd better not try that shit with papyrus_ , he mutters darkly to himself.

Sans was used to being able to read people’s expressions, but yours just so happens to remain almost perpetually blank. He felt a bit more relaxed after seeing the look of confusion on your face, which reassured him more than that empty expression you had on before.

He watches with a fond grin as his brother banters excitedly about finally being able to catch a human and joining the Royal Guard. Like the cool skeleton he is, Papyrus also warns the two of you before sprinting off to his nearest puzzle, the electricity maze. _looks like he’s having fun._

After leaving you and the kid, Sans decides to make a quick trip and teleports over to his workshop. There was something he wanted to confirm. He had a lingering feeling that something was wrong with this current timeline, and that it had something to do with your unexpected appearance.

Stepping out of the snow-blanketed forest, he is greeted with the familiar walls of his private lab, hidden beneath the house. The room was sparse, with only single work table, some blueprints, and a broken machine stuffed away into a corner. 

Rummaging through the drawers, he pulls out a pile of loose paper stuffed haphazardly into a worn-out folder. Opening the blue cover, he shuffles through the mess. He had briefly looked over the disorganized passages left by his ‘previous selves’ this morning, but from what he had pieced together, there was never any mention of _you._

His workshop was connected to one of the few remnants of a dead timeline that existed before the Core incident. It was a separate space that only he had access to, and thus, was unaffected by the distortion of time brought about by the anomaly’s ability to SAVE and RESET.

Chuckling tiredly to himself, Sans tries to make sense of his own ramblings as he flips through the file. He had no memory of writing any of these entries down, yet here they were. ‘He’ had been keeping short records of the timelines both before and after the kid had fallen into the underground. But as time passed and the resets continued, his loose scribbles were gradually getting lazier and less detailed.

_can’t really blame em, or uh...me._

From the looks of things, the kid’s actions were becoming more predictable. One way or another, the kid never really manages to reach the barrier. It always ends up with one of three outcomes, followed closely by a reset. 

One, the kid goes through the underground without killing anybody, two, the kid only kills a couple of monsters before resetting, and as for three...heh. The kid becomes a real monster-killer, going through the underground searching for and murdering everyone they encounter. 

He had gotten cold shivers down his spine just from reading some of the details that had been recorded.

Frisk was the anomaly for a good while now. Although, he didn’t know for sure just how many times the kid had reset, the solid centimeter worth of paper on them alone, in the files, was enough for Sans to guess that they’ve been down here for quite some time. 

The kid was always referred to as either ‘frisk’ or ‘red-eyes’ in order to differentiate which outcome they achieved in that timeline. According to his notes, things are usually fine and dandy when ‘frisk’ did a run-through. The kid was merciful for the most part and determined to make friends with everybody. One of the biggest red flags that he wasn’t dealing with ‘frisk’ was when the kid had red eyes, hence the nickname. 

At some point, the kid had decided to tell one of his previous selves that they were a time-traveler, which they proved to him by saying his triple-secret codeword. This confirmed ‘his’ earlier suspicions that they had the ability to use the SAVE and RESET functions in the underground. 

That was probably also around the time he had started keeping closer tabs on them, noting down what happened in each timeline and giving himself an early warning on what to expect, what to look for. 

The records also mention that the kid, during one of their better runs, said that they didn’t always have full control over their actions, but none of his previous selves had ever been able to confirm whether or not they were telling the truth. It was noted, however, that their personality does drastically change whenever ‘red-eyes’ appeared. Unlike their usual self, the kid would be indifferent, unresponsive, and cold.

Sans didn’t really know what to make of this information. Gaining LV and EXP could produce a similar effect. Maybe the kid just didn’t want to take responsibility for their actions and was making up an excuse?

A part of him wanted to believe that this was the case, since it meant once the kid got what they wanted, or eventually grows tired of trying, that they’ll stop resetting the timeline. But it didn’t really explain why they had decided to tell him about their time-control powers in the first place.

_speaking of the kid..._

Sans recalls the fear and guilt on their face when he first met them in this timeline. He didn’t have to read that hard into their expression to tell that they recently had a bad run. Heh, nope. It was more than that. He could tell that the kid had murdered Papyrus.

His grip on the journal tightens as his right pupil suddenly vanishes. The room crackles as his rising anger discharges blue magic from his bones, which escape into the surrounding air. A series of sharp snaps and pops bounce off the lab walls in response. 

He was seriously pissed at them for that. Even worse, he knew that this wasn’t the first time they had killed his brother either. 

Paper suddenly blows out from the folder he was holding onto with a death grip and scatters across the floor, snapping him out of it. _shit._

He takes a deep breath and attempts to slow the rampant magic rushing through his bones. The yellow-blue gradually fades from his left eye, and the room grows calm again. He sighs. There was no use dwelling on the past. 

Even if he did something to stop them, _it’ll all just reset again._

Sans' shoulders slump as he reaches down to pick up the loose spreadsheets. It wouldn’t make much of a difference if the order was messed up. 

Hell, none of his previous selves had even bothered to count the resets. For all he knew, the files collected in his lab were just a fraction of the timelines, the ones that he had managed to record down in time. It’s possible that he and the rest of the underground have been stuck in a time loop for years now. Repeating the same motions as the anomaly ran things through again and again and again…

In the back of his mind, Sans was honestly grateful that he couldn't remember the details of every reset. Just these damn pieces of paper were enough to drive him nearly insane. Shaking the thoughts from his head, his eyelights drift to a particularly blank sheet on the floor. 

_must be a recent one._ He picked it up, quickly reading through the short entries.

> _*kid left the ruins on a good note n’ passed the whoopee cushion test._
> 
> _*they’ve stopped respondin._
> 
> _*alph has ordered an evacuation on snowdin town._

His previous self didn’t really go into much detail, but Sans could pretty much guess what had happened. What bothered him more was that there was no mention of you. Was this really the first time you had appeared in the underground?

He wasn’t sure what he was hoping for. On one hand, if you were a new variable, it meant that things were bound to change. However, your recent appearance also meant that he had no prior knowledge about you. Was your existence down here for the better or worse? He didn’t know.

Disappointed by the usual spiel, Sans flips the paper around. Scrawled on the backside of the page was a collection of nearly illegible sentences, as if his previous self had been short on time when writing it down. He narrows his eyes at the note, trying to make sense of the words.

> _*found the kid in [illegible garble], someone was with em. white hair, wearing black [illegible garble], tall. couldn’t make out [illegible garble]. not recorded in [illegible garble], a new entity? [illegible garble] can’t be confirmed from the reports._

Underneath the passage, he listed what the unintelligible pieces most likely meant, which roughly ended up translating into:

> _*found the kid in [snowdin town], someone was with em. white hair, wearing black [clothes or armor], tall. couldn’t make out [their face]. not recorded in [the file’s previous records], a new entity? [anomaly status] can’t be confirmed from the reports._

Although the missing details weren’t really a problem, it frustrated him was that there had been little to no relevant information discovered about you from the previous run. He only knew that your first appearance occurred in the last timeline, and adding the details and lack of mention of you from the front page, you had probably exited the Ruins and met the kid _after_ they had already murdered their way through most of Snowdin. 

The previous him must have only seen you briefly before the kid decided to reset. You were still a blank slate.

Scratching the side of his skull, Sans internally debates whether he should start writing better descriptions of you now or wait until the two of you reached town. He ultimately opts to record down what he's discovered so far, which wasn’t really all that much. 

Who knows? Maybe the _next_ him would figure out something useful with this information. Looking at the time, he’ll have to make it quick, though. The two of you would be arriving at the first puzzle soon, and he didn’t want to keep Papyrus waiting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your patience! 
> 
> I sincerely thank all readers who take the time to leave a positive comment. You guys make my days between each chapter more enjoyable. See you all in Chapter 12! ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ
> 
> For those who are interested, I’m using the _Dead Timeline Theory_ detailed here:  
>  http://napstamuse.tumblr.com/post/138312384562/gaster-the-grey-npcs-and-fun-values-an 


	12. A Stomach Full Of Gold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An electrifying chapter about puzzles and making it rain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! Thank you for reading. Kudos and comments are always appreciated~ ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎

You stand in front of the skeleton brothers, Frisk still held comfortably in your arms. You haven’t had the chance to put them down since they discovered the functions of your party system. 

The child seems to have taken a liking to your combined efforts on dealing with monster encounters. They kept giving you pouts or sending you sad looks whenever you attempted to let them walk on their own. You eventually gave up and resigned yourself as their mount.

 _It’s faster this way_ , you reasoned.

The monsters stood on the other side of a large, flat floor. The taller skeleton was currently explaining the rules to the ‘tiny human.’

The approximate distance you needed to jump, should the puzzle prove too dangerous for the child, was already calculated in your head. Thus, you stare out into the distance, gaze unfocused as your mind tunes out the background noise.

It took the two of you about ten minutes to reach the skeleton brothers. Along the way, you experienced the effects of blue magic for the first time. 

The canine-shaped monster, or Doggo, as Frisk’s system helpfully identified, fought by summoning and waving around two blue-coloured blades. Fortunately, the child warned you of its effects beforehand, so you were able to handle the attack with ease. 

Blue magic was particularly different from the white manifestations that most other monsters used. It doesn’t do any damage as long as you remain motionless throughout the attack.

“HMM...THOSE UNBLINKING EYES...THAT DISTANT GAZE...AND THE NEED TO CARRY YOUR TINY HUMAN COMPANION...LARGER HUMAN! YOU MUST BE REALLY EXCITED TO TRY THE INVISIBLE ELECTRICITY MAZE!”

Papyrus’ voice reverberates loudly, snapping you from your thoughts. You refocus your attention on the two skeletons.

“WORRY NOT, LARGE HUMAN! I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ARE MERELY HIDING YOUR ENTHUSIASM, AND ARE, IN FACT, VERY EAGER TO TRY OUT THE FIRST PUZZLE I'VE PREPARED FOR YOU. ONLY, THERE'S NO NEED TO PRETEND! THERE ARE MANY MORE CHALLENGES, FRAUGHT WITH DANGER, JUST WAITING FOR YOU UP AHEAD. ALL MADE AND RE-CALIBRATED BY ME OF COURSE, THE GREAT PAPYRUS! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!”

The bright smile on the tall skeleton’s face quickly transforms into a discouraging frown as Sans, who had been pretty quiet throughout the entire encounter, chose this moment to interrupt. 

“yep. looks like they’re both pretty amped up and ready to go. watt do you say we get started.”

“SANS! DID YOU JUST...”

“c’mon paps, wouldn’t hertz to spark things up a little.”

“SAAAAANS! ANYWAYS, I THINK THAT YOU'LL FIND THIS NEXT PUZZLE TO BE...QUITE SHOCKING!” 

“heh, good one bro.” He praises, the grin on his face widening ever so slightly.

You didn’t bother trying to decipher their conversation and take a step forward. 

**_BUUUZZZZZZZZZZZZTTT!_**

A sharp buzz sounds out as Papyrus suddenly jumps into the air. A black figure replaces him and lands before you, steaming from head to toe. You realize that the noise was an electric zap. Your senses detected that the source of it came from the skeleton’s body.

Papyrus stamps his feet, looking both charred and upset.

“SANS! WHAT DID YOU DO?"

“uh, i think one of the humans has to hold the orb.” Sans advises, looking amused.

“OH! THAT’S RIGHT! HOW SILLY OF ME.” 

The tall skeleton marches through the invisible electricity puzzle and stops in front of you, holding out a palm-sized, glass ball. The child takes it and giggles to themselves as he then marches back, shaking the soot off of him along the way. 

You notice that the snow around him had melted from the heat of the attack, which ended up leaving a very noticeable and distinct set of wet footprints through the maze. You frown slightly, thinking that it must be some kind of trap. Frisk, however, gives you an encouraging smile.

“OK! YOU CAN GO AHEAD NOW!”

You reach out your free arm and silently ask them for the orb. They raise an eyebrow at your request, but drops it into your hand still. It feels warm.

You follow the skeleton’s footsteps halfway through the puzzle before your curiosity overtakes you and you stop. 

_It hasn’t sent any electric shocks yet, so the footprints must mark the correct path._

There was a growing urge inside of you as you stared at the unmarked ground, silently contemplating whether you should stick to the path or test out a different route. The strange, nagging feeling eventually wins and you sidestep to the left, avoiding the safely marked right turn. 

“INCORRECT, HUMAN!”

Papyrus exclaims a bit too excitedly, with an expression of someone who seemed quite proud of himself.

“YOU SEEMED TO HAVE...SEEMED TO HAVE...UH, SANS? WHY ISN’T THE PUZZLE SENDING OUT AN ELECTRIC SHOCK???”

The short skeleton stares at you for a moment before his gaze drops to the ball, which was currently vibrating visibly in your open palm.

“dunno, maybe it’s broken?” He shrugs and answers calmly, closing his eyes.

You toss the glass orb into the air, noticing little to no difference as you catch it again. It continues to vibrate as you walk in a straight line through the rest of the maze, ignoring the marked route. You are slightly surprised that nothing really happened despite going the wrong way on purpose. 

Save for the smallest of tingles that the ball left in your hand, there wasn’t really anything noteworthy about it. Still, you held the orb away when Frisk reached for it with a puzzled expression. They gave you an annoyed pout, but you refused to give in this time. 

From previous experience, you already knew that there was a drastic difference between you two. Just because something was harmless to you, doesn’t mean that it was the same case for the child. You couldn’t feel any pain or shock from the ball, but you’d rather not test it out on them.

_It’s better to keep them away from any potential dangers._

You hand the glass sphere back to the tall skeleton. He picks it up and brings it close to his eyes, squinting as he examines the electric contraption.

“HMM...YOU SLICK, SLIPPERY SNAILS! IT LOOKS LIKE THE ELECTRICITY MAZE THINGY IS BROKEN, ALLOWING YOU BOTH TO PASS THROUGH SO EASILY. TOO EASILY! WELL, WORRY NOT! THERE WILL BE MORE PUZZLES FOR YOU TO TRY LATER.”

Papyrus poses in a dramatic fashion, his scarf billowing behind him despite there being no breeze.

“I ASSURE YOU THAT THE UPCOMING PUZZLES WILL BE IN PROPER, WORKING ORDER AND ARE MUCH MORE CHALLENGING THAN THIS ONE! THEY WILL ALSO NOT BE BROKEN...I THINK. I’LL GO AND CHECK.”

Sans turns to the two of you after his brother runs off. He gazes steadily at you. 

“and you don’t even bat an eye, huh?” 

You cock your head to the side. Was he asking you a question?

“I didn’t feel much.” You answer back, assuming that he was inquiring about your wrong path through the maze.

His eye sockets widen just a fraction as surprise briefly flashes across his face. It didn’t seem like he had anticipated a response from you.

Frisk tugged on the straps of your leather armor. When you didn’t look at them fast enough, they proceeded to stuff their sketchbook in your face. 

[Did it really not hurt?] 

You nodded, pushing down their sketchbook just enough to peek at them over it.

You thought about the elemental lightning spells a Warlock could summon in your own world. There really was no comparison between the two.

“hey, thanks for playing along. my brother seems...sorta nervous actually, but i'm sure he’s having fun.”

The skeleton looks away for a moment before returning his gaze to you and Frisk.

“by the way, did you see that weird outfit he’s wearing? we made that a few weeks ago for a costume party. he hasn’t worn anything else since...keeps calling it his ‘battle body.’ man. isn't my brother cool?”

You looked over at Frisk, not sure how to respond. 

The child simply beams and nods their head in agreement. You try to mimic their actions, but you don’t quite manage to squeeze out a smile. Instead, your expression remains stiff and emotionless. 

Frisk reaches up their tiny hands and you feel the sides of your mouth being stretched upwards. You pull back your head, confused as you gently try and pry their fingers from your face. This somehow amuses them, and they laugh. 

Sans also lets out a small chuckle. 

You stare at them both blankly until Frisk points forward, indicating that they wanted to move on. 

You walk past the skeleton and arrive near a small bridge shortly after. To your left was a blue-furred monster with two long ears. It leaned against a brightly painted red and yellow cart, looking despondent as it quietly muttered to itself.

“I don’t understand why these aren’t selling. It’s the perfect weather for something cold...”

Upon noticing your presence, the monster’s ears perk up and the grim look on its face is immediately replaced with a smile. 

“OH!!!! A CUSTOMER!!!” It exclaims enthusiastically. 

“Hello! Would you like some Nice Cream? It’s the frozen treat that warms your heart! Now just 15G!”

You weren’t really interested, however, a grumbling noise suddenly sounded in response to their offer. It was coming from the child’s stomach. You furrowed your brows at the noise, trying to recall what it meant.

Their stomach grumbles again and you finally remember. Oh, that’s right. Humans needed to eat on a regular basis.

“Are you hungry?” You ask. 

They nodded in return, cheeks slightly flushed red.

You face the Nice Cream seller, wondering how much you should buy. 

“I’ll take 50.” You decide after a moment. You weren't sure how much they needed to consume. More was better than less, right?

The blue-furred monster looks stunned by your request. The child slaps a hand over their face and quickly scribbles into their sketchbook.

[Too much! I can’t hold that many!]

“25?” 

They shake their head.

“...12?”

[Two, we’ll take two!] They hold up their message for the monster to read.

“Alright! That’ll be 30G!”

[How much gold do you have?] Frisk asks you, looking a bit sheepish. 

Well, according to your description box, you had over 2.5 billion. The atreian currency from your world, kinah, was also made of gold. 

_Perhaps it can be used as a substitute here_ , you think quietly to yourself. The overwritten functions of your system had labelled it under the ‘gold’ column, so it was worth a try. 

You take out 30 coins. Each individual coin was approximately the size of a bottle cap. They gleam brightly in your hands.

The long-eared vendor takes the handful of gold and examines a piece, marveling at the intricate patterns on the front and back of the coin. 

“Oh! What a great design! I don’t recognize this symbol though, where did you get it from?”

[We came from the Ruins. Are these ok?] The child quickly writes before you could give them an answer.

“Sure, no problem! Other than the emblem being different, they’re pretty much the same as the ones we use in the capital.”

The blue monster pockets the coins with a cheerful smile.

“Besides, I hear the Ruin doors are tightly locked on this side! I’ve never seen anyone move in from that old part of the underground before. Guess, today must be my lucky day! I got to meet two rare customers and gained a bunch of neat-looking coins!” 

The vendor takes out two Nice Creams from his cart and hands them over to Frisk.

“Here you go! Have a super-duper day!” 

* _You got the Nice Cream._

You were beginning to get used to hearing narration whenever the child discovered or obtained something of interest. _What an odd system._

Frisk tore open the plastic wrappers on the Nice Creams, revealing two semi-rectangular shaped sweets, propped on a long, flat stick. 

They popped the pink one into their mouth before waving the blue one in front of your face.

[I’m taking the strawberry. You can have this one.]

You pause for a second before taking their offering with your free hand. Finding no reason against it, you copy their actions and give it a lick.

You felt something cool against your tongue. After a brief moment, the cold substance dissolves, sending a small wave of warmth down your throat. The feeling was faint and disappeared quickly, but it was pleasant nonetheless. It reminded you a bit of Toriel’s butterscotch-cinnamon pie. 

You crossed the small bridge as the two of you ate. 

Deciding that it was easier to consume it quickly, you took small bites. Frisk patiently licked at their Nice Cream instead, enjoying it slowly. They waved one of the wrappers at you and pointed to some small text written on the back. You stopped to read what it said.

* _Are those claws natural?_

You stare at the talons on your hand, letting the rest of the Nice Cream dissolve in your mouth. Yes. As far as you knew, you’ve always had them. 

You gently take Frisk’s hand and run your thumb over their soft, smooth nails. Maybe yours had been similar to theirs before you ascended.

You recall a specific passage from the Book of Asmodians; a hand-written remnant that detailed the history of your race, as well as the events that occurred after the millennium war, and the great cataclysm.

> _“Our skin grew pale in the engulfing darkness, and the hard ground, littered with jagged debris, turned our feet into claws. Our hands, too, grew razor-sharp, as if to say that none of our race would ever go unarmed again...”_

It was safe to say that the transformation of your race was well equipped for warfare. To your kind, there was no such thing as peace. Such a concept was never taught to young Daevas. Resilience and lethal fighting capabilities were heavily emphasized upon instead.

Despite centuries of building and adapting to the bitter, desolate lands of Asmodae, the struggle to enact vengeance against the Elyos and Balaur race was fresh in minds of the Empyrean Lords. Anyone who called themselves an Asmodian knew how to handle a weapon, soldier or not. 

You let go of the child’s hands and have a look at what their Nice Cream Wrapper said.

* _You’re super spiffy!_

Seems like each Nice Cream came with its own complimentary message. 

You raise a brow when Frisk, finished with their cold treat, suddenly starts to squirm in your hold. You carefully placed them down and watch as they ran further down the path, towards a familiar looking skeleton.

Sans stood next to some coniferous trees, lazily staring ahead with his hands stuffed in his pockets. The child stops in front of him and they begin to chat. You slowly make your way over.

When you arrive, his white eye-lights flicker in your direction for a moment before refocusing on Frisk. 

“i’ve been thinking about selling treats too. want some fried snow? it’s just 5G.”

They nod.

“did i say 5G, i meant 50G.”

They nod again. You figured that they were still hungry. 

“really? how about 5000G?”

The child continues to nod, with a small smile on their face this time. 

_Do they even have that much gold?_ You thought silently. 

You’ve been observing them since the beginning of the Ruins. After every monster encounter, some would leave behind a few pieces of gold. Whether they did this as an apology for attacking them or perhaps as a token of friendship, you didn’t know. Monsters in Snowdin happened to leave more gold than those in the catacombs, but certainly not enough for the child to collect 5000. 

“50,000G that’s my final offer.”

Frisk grins and gives them a thumbs up.

“alright, kid. you’ve convinced me. what? you don’t have the money?”

Hearing him snicker, you can’t help but feel a bit irritated somehow. The skeleton kept increasing the gold necessary to buy their fried snow, and each new price was set at a significantly greater amount than the one before. At this point, you were certain that the child couldn’t afford it. 

“...50,000 gold?” You ask to confirm, interrupting him before he could continue.

“yea, that’s my final offer.” Sans repeats in your direction, his casual smile accompanied by a look of interest.

You ask your system to extract 50,000 atreian coins. 

**A small mountain suddenly appears.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I doing any of this right? I have no idea. Truthfully, I've always been a better artist then I am a writer. Too bad I can't summon the effort and time it takes to pursue the former, or maybe I'm just too lazy to try. Ah well, I'll just make do with this. ╮(╯▽╰)╭
> 
> Thank you for reading! See you in Chapter 13! (I was aiming for a Friday but I missed an update yesterday. Whoops.)
> 
> With this, we're nearly back to where we were! Thank you for keeping patient during these last two weeks as I replaced all my lost chapters. I had a lot of fun re-editing some previous errors, adding dialogue fonts, and meeting new readers. (｡-◡-｡ )人( ｡-◡-｡)


	13. An Omnious Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Many red flags raised in this chapter. Can you count them all? :D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! Thank you for reading. Kudos and comments are always appreciated~ ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎

You ask your system to extract 50,000 atreian coins.

Thousands of coins begin to pour out, quickly covering the floor in gold. The coins pile up at your side until they formed an impressive mountain. However, the out-pour showed no sign of stopping and continued to increase in height, slowly peaking over the child’s head. 

There was a large beat of silence following the extraction of gold, where only the sound of loose coins, tumbling down from the top of the ever growing mountain, could be heard. In the end, the pile of gold coins had managed to reach all the way up to your chest. 

Your system, having finished its task, sounded out a bell to notify you of its completion. 

You turn to face Sans, only to find him, and the child, both staring back at you. _Did I do something strange?_ You pondered quietly to yourself. After all, it was just 50,000 gold. It wouldn’t make much of a difference to you if he increased the price again by another fold.

Frisk manages to snap out of it first. Their stunned expression was quickly replaced with excitement as they trotted over to the gold. The child playfully sinks their hands into the mound, creating a symphony of metallic clinks and jingles, as coins continuously spill down from the sides. 

The skeleton breaks eye-contact with you to glance at the mountain of coins. Despite his casual bearing, he looked to be in deep thought.

“wow, that’s a lot of cash.” He finally says, returning his gaze. 

Sans winks at you with his right eye-socket.

“that’s why i’m sorry to say... i can’t sell you this fried snow. it's got too much sentimental value.”

There was a faint glint in your eyes and your fingers twitched slightly upon hearing him withdraw. For some reason, you were itching to wipe that smirk off his face. Never before had you encountered a vendor who would refuse to sell an item after raising its price _three times._

One word surfaces in the back of your mind, summing up your impression of this particular skeleton. _Irritating._

You felt a tug on your arm, distracting you from your thoughts.

[Hey, can I take some? Please?] Frisk looks up at you with a hopeful expression, pointing to the gold.

You nod. They wrapped your torso in a brief hug before barreling towards the pile of shiny coins, a big smile on their face. They pocket a few small handfuls and return to your side, clasping your hand with their tiny one. 

After you finished returning the rest of the gold back into your inventory, the child waves goodbye to the skeleton and leads you to a moderate-sized ball of snow. You don’t remember having seen it here the last time you passed through. _Is this another puzzle?_

You watch patiently as the child kicked around the ball, bringing it to the hole at the end of the path. Oddly enough, the snowball got smaller, faster, when it touched the small pond of ice next to the hole. _Wait._ You realized something just then. 

_How can there be snow in an underground cavern?_ Looking up, you saw no openings above where the snow could have fallen through. You expressionlessly stare at the rapidly shrinking ball, mystified. Frisk was lining up their final shot. 

_Even the snow down here is made of magic?_ You thought quietly to yourself as they successfully kicked the marble-sized ball into the hole. 

A light, blue-coloured flag rises from the center of the hole, and you hear the child’s system narrate some lines that were written on the flag. 

* _LIGHT BLUE – "Ball" is "Small."_  
* _You waited, still, for this opportunity... then dethroned "Ball" with a sharp attack._  
* _(You are awarded 4G.)_

Frisk huffs, seeming unsatisfied with their result. They return to the beginning and you notice that there was another moderately-sized ball of snow rapidly forming next to you, replacing the one lost. 

After trying a few more times, and with some other colorful results, the child manages to accurately kick their snowball into the hole in under 10 seconds. A bright, red flag rises from the center.

* _Bravery. Justice. Integrity. Kindness. Perseverance. Patience._  
* _Using these, you were able to win at " Ball Game."_  
* _(You are awarded 50G.)_

Ah, so it was not a puzzle, but some sort of game. 

They ran back and stopped in front of you, looking quite proud. You found yourself giving them a pat on the head before you realized what you were doing. This somehow pleases the child however, and they give you a bright smile in return. Frisk gestures to the reformed ball. 

[Now you try!]

Surprised by their request, you stare down at the ball of snow. Was it really necessary for you to do this? Looking at their eager expression, you internally let out a sigh before positioning yourself behind the ball. Seems like the answer was yes. You would finish this quickly.

Calculating the angle and distance between you and the goal, you kicked the ball into the air. Jumping up after it, you send the snowball flying down from mid-air, directly cutting over the small pockets of snow that blocked the way on the ground. 

The ball lands straight into the hole and a white flag shoots up from its center.

* _WHITE – A hole-in-one._  
* _How terrible, you cheated in order to finish “Ball Game.”_  
* _(You forfeit 100G.)_

Your system notifies you that 100 gold has been automatically deducted from your inventory. 

“Pffft.”

Hearing a strange noise, you turn around. Frisk was crouched down behind you, clutching their stomach. For a moment, you thought that they were in pain because they didn’t eat enough earlier. Those thoughts disappear once you realize that the child was laughing, not trembling.

Struggling to compose themselves, they looked up at your (probably) very confused face. There a was a brief second of silence before the child’s poker-face cracks and they burst out into laughter again, rolling onto their backs this time as they giggled uncontrollably in the snow. 

You simply continue to stare at them blankly, unsure what they found to be so funny. They reach for their sketchbook upon realizing this. 

[You looked so cool when you were kicking in the ball, and then...]

They attempt to write with shaky hands, their small body still quivering from suppressed giggles.

[You ended up losing 100G!]

Oh. You didn’t realize that sending the ball directly into the hole would be considered cheating, resulting in an automatic loss of the game. You just wanted to complete the child’s request as quickly as possible and move on. 

Although you didn’t really care about the loss of gold, a part of you, just a small part, was feeling rather disgruntled that you failed. You didn’t bother trying to dismiss the feeling this time and stood behind the newly formed ball of snow. 

You mirror the path Frisk took when they defeated the game. The snowball quickly makes its way into the hole, raising the red-colored flag again.

* _Try as you might, you continue to be yourself._  
* _(You are awarded 10G.)_

The child looks surprised for a second before their face stretches into a grin. They give you a thumbs up. You nod back, satisfied.

[Actually, I’ve never seen the white flag before.] They wrote.

It made sense. With the child’s small stature and lack of training, no one would expect them to send the ball straight into the hole, as there were two large patches of snow blocking the way. In order to complete the game, they’d have to go around instead. 

[I think they’re waiting for us.] Frisk points at the skeleton brothers who were stationed ahead before taking off. 

You were about to follow after them when your senses suddenly detected something strange. 

Looking back, you are surprised to find that the previously red flag was now black. You walk closer and inspect the flag, curious about the source of its sudden change.

* _Its actually white, blackened by a single word repeating over and over again._  
* ** _C̡̗̰̹̟h̯͎̗e͖̟a̼͇̣̤͈̖t̝̺͔͙e҉̤̺r̪͓͚̮̞̫ ̭̣C̢̜̬̜h̻̺̹̳̗̰e͎̖at̬e̶͎͇̻̙r̵̩͇̥̦̼̞ ̴̫̦̣̹ͅCh̡͈ḙ̛͓̼͖̹͎a̼̮t̷e̙̩͚̠͇r͖̼̣ ̝̲̯̬͞ͅC͔̩̫̪̥̖h̡͍̩̭̠̫e͚͍͍͉̹̻à̘͇̞̱̲te͎̫̗̪̳͇̭͢r̝͟ ̗̳C̹͈͍̫̘͔̫ḥ̗̪̮e̯̥̳̘ͅa҉̬t̗̳̞e͔r̜̞̜̩͘.͙̻̣̘̺̘.̵͔̬͔͔̪.̨_**  
* _The text seems to go on indefinitely._

**Driiiiip... SPLAT.**

A black, amorphous substance suddenly lands next to your feet, sizzling in the open air. More, inky splotches ooze out from under the flag and fall onto the floor. The separate bodies of goo acted like magnets, attracting one another as they inched closer together.

You stare at the bubbling, shapeless mass. Whatever this thing was, it gave you an ominous feeling. A small voice whispers in the back your head.

_Destroy it._

You snap your attention away from the growing entity beneath you and whirl around, just in time to catch something cold. It was a snowball. The snow crumbles in your hand before falling to the ground. 

The child waves at you from afar, hiding their smile before motioning for you to hurry up. 

You glance back at the flag. "..."

Both the text and the strange substance were gone. You scan the empty ground, however, your senses no longer detected anything unusual. 

Your eyes narrow. You hadn’t imagined it, right? No, you were sure of what you saw. It had been there a second ago. 

Frisk waves at you again and you put aside the odd feeling, strolling over to them. The smile on their face falters slightly upon noticing your expression.

[What’s wrong?] They ask, giving you a worried look.

“It’s nothing.” You reassure them, shaking your head. 

_There’s no need to alarm them._ Whatever happened back there, you could deal with on your own. The child only needed to remain safe. 

You both made your way over to the skeletons. Papyrus' face lights up in excitement when he notices the two of you.

“HUMANS!!! I FORGOT TO TELL YOU THAT THE NEXT PUZZLE WAS DESIGNED BY MY BROTHER, SANS! THIS TIME, YOU WILL SURELY BE CONFOUNDED! I KNOW I AM!”

You recall that this place was where you found that odd sheet of paper last time.

“I HOPE YOU’RE READY FOR...! SANS!! WHERE’S THE PUZZLE!?!”

“it’s right there, on the ground. trust me. there's no way they can get past this one.”

Frisk smiles and goes to pick up the piece of paper off the floor. You glance over their shoulder. How were they going to complete this one?

After looking over it briefly, they crouched again to place the puzzle back down when suddenly, they stop. The child turns around and looks at you. You return their gaze, a silent question on your face. They break into a small smile before opting to sit on the ground instead.

You don’t comment on their decision and stand behind them. The taller skeleton watches with an eager expression. 

The child takes out a green crayon and begins circling words from the chart of jumbled letters. On the top of the page read the title: Monster Kidz Word Search. So far, they’ve already managed to find and cross out skeletons, monster, and cigar from the list below. Your eyes gravitate to the only odd looking word on the list, giasfclfebrehber. You're fairly certain that it was just a jumble of random letters and not an actual word.

Finished with their word search, they hold up the paper for you to see. Noticing the expectant look on their face, you reach out your hand and give them another pat on the head. Seeming happy with your response, they turn to hand in the completed puzzle.

“Wait.” 

You both freeze. You are surprised to hear the sound of your own voice. You hadn't meant to say that out-loud.

Sans, who just stood around the entire time, watching, now glances over with a look of interest.

Frisk tilts their head at you with a curious expression. Having already stopped them, you figure that you might as well continue.

You reach for the puzzle and gently take the crayon from their hands. You cross out the U and write an E above the horizontal line that the child had circled: GIASFCLF ~~U~~ BREHBER. There was a one letter difference between the word on the list and the circled passage.

You hand back the paper. Their eyes flicker back and forth between the two words before shooting the short skeleton an accusing gaze. 

He simply shrugs in response, but the grin on his face widened slightly.

Frisk lets out a short huff and marches over to Papyrus instead, who peers at the completed sheet with suspicion. 

"SANS!!! THIS PUZZLE IS IMPOSSIBLE TO SOLVE! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING GIVING IT TO THE HUMANS? IF THE LARGER HUMAN HADN’T COMBINED FORCES WITH THE TINY HUMAN, WE WOULD HAVE BEEN HERE ALL NIGHT!”

“whoops. i knew i should have used today’s crossword instead.”

This seems to infuriate the tall skeleton even more.

“WHAT!? CROSSWORD!? I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT!! IN MY OPINION... JUNIOR JUMBLE IS EASILY THE HARDEST.”

“what? really, dude? that easy-peasy word scramble? that’s for baby bones.”

“UN. BELIEVABLE.” 

Papyrus looks over to you.

“HUMAN!!! SOLVE THIS DISPUTE!”

You glance at the child. Why was he asking you? 

They write something down on their sketchbook and hold it up for you to read.

[Which one do you think is harder?]

You thought about it for a moment. You had absolutely no idea what a crossword was, but based on the short skeleton’s description, junior jumble was referring to the puzzle that the child just finished. 

The word search was impossible, so you pointed at that. Frisk immediately nods in agreement.

“HA! HA! YES! HUMANS MUST BE VERY INTELLIGENT IF THEY ALSO FIND JUNIOR JUMBLE SO DIFFICULT! NYEH! HEH! HEH HEH!” 

The taller skeleton happily runs off. Sans watches him leave before turning to face you two.

“thanks for saying “junior jumble” to appease my brother. yesterday he got stumped trying to “solve” the horoscope.”

You didn’t understand some of the terms he was using, so you said nothing. The child smiles brightly and leads you to the next room.

They stop to pause at one of those peculiar spots while you took a look around. This time, the place was a lot less messy. A plate of food sat neatly on a wooden table in the center of the floor. A note was placed on the ground to its left, while a metal box sat on a wooden stool to the right. 

You read the note first.

> HUMANS!! PLEASE ENJOY THIS SPAGHETTI. (LITTLE DO YOU KNOW. THIS SPAGHETTI IS A TRAP... DESIGNED TO ENTICE YOU!!! YOU’LL BE SO BUSY EATING IT THAT YOU WON’T REALIZE THAT YOU AREN’T PROGRESSING!! THOROUGHLY JAPED AGAIN BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS!!)
> 
> NYEH-HEH-HEH, PAPYRUS.

You notice that there were two plastic forks placed next to the spaghetti. You couldn’t detect any poison in the food.

While you didn’t feel enticed by the offer, you thought that it was rather considerate of him to try and feed his targets, even if it was a trap. 

After completing the last two puzzles, you realized that there was wasn’t much evidence of the tall skeleton actually trying to capture the human child. Instead, it looked more like he was trying to play with them.

Frisk, finished with what they were doing, walks up to your side.

[It’s stuck to the table.] The child writes upon seeing your interest. 

Stuck? Did they want to eat it? 

Wordlessly, you reached behind your back and unsheathe one of your daggers. With wide eyes, which you mistook for anticipation (or hunger), the child watches as you use the sharp end of your blade to carve through the ice that kept the plate stuck to the table. 

You hand them the cold plate of spaghetti. 

Frisk looks up at you, then down at the food, then over to plastic forks on the table. 

There was a beat of silence before they abruptly turned around and marched away.

 

* * *

* * *

* * *

 

A gust of wind momentarily displaces the snow, sending forth a foggy mist of cold and chill. A single, yellow flower shivers beneath the soil. 

It mumbles to itself before surfacing. **"What an idiot."**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! We're finally back to where we left off on the last attempt~ ᕦ( ᐕ )ᕡ Hope to see you guys soon for Chapter 14!  
> After that, things will go back to the original schedule, with one update every 1-2 weeks! Love ya guys, ya'll are the best. (´∀｀)♡
> 
> Special Thanks to the Following Readers:
> 
> **purple_Squiggles** & **The Normal Meatball**  
>  For keeping me company. Your regular encouragement and fun little RPs have really cheered me up. Thank you!
> 
>  **ShadeofSilver** & **Jacobgra5**  
>  For being new readers and taking the time to leave me some positive comments. Thank you!
> 
>  **To all the other Readers who commented on Chapters 1 through 12**  
>  I really appreciate that you stuck around as I re-posted my work and am thankful to have such a lovely audience.


	14. Flower You Today?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In case you were wondering why Papyrus was late in Chapter 9.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! Thank you for reading. Kudos and comments are always appreciated~ ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎

Flowey cursed under his breath, he could still feel his head throbbing thanks to that attack you hit him with earlier. Of all the ways he was expecting to greet that stupid, human kid, it wasn’t with _you_. 

He didn’t understand. Where had you even come from? You weren’t supposed to be down here.

Those red eyes of yours had initially shocked him. At first, he couldn’t believe it. He almost mistook you for someone else, but once he had the chance to stop and collect his thoughts, he was sure that it was a mistake. _They_ were with Frisk, not you.

Still, after retreating, he didn’t stalk behind or watch the stupid kid. He stayed near the Ruins’ exit instead, impatiently waiting for them to catch up.

He wasn’t afraid of you. _The next time I see you, I’ll show you the true meaning of pain_. He’d make you wish that you were dead.

The kid showed up alone this time. Even worse, it turned out to be Frisk instead of the person he wanted to see. Again.

Flowey couldn’t stand it anymore. He waited for them for so long, and even devised a game for them to play together. It would’ve been just like old times. Were they still angry about what happened before? He wouldn’t make a mistake like that again.

Things were different now. He was no longer the weak, useless idiot he used to be. 

_Maybe, they just need... a little nudge._

The wicked smile on his face grew, unnaturally stretching apart his facial proportions into something even more eerie and sinister than usual. 

Yeah, the human kid was slowly losing control anyways. He’d only be helping them speed up the process a little.

Once Frisk relinquishes their soul and control over the timeline, _they_ wouldn’t be able to ignore him anymore. He was sure that if he just got the chance to explain things, they’d be interested in his plan for sure. With the two of them partnered together, succeeding would be as easy as pie.

Honestly, he was surprised that the kid even lasted this long. Determination was one hell of a drug. Flowey knew that much. 

Just by injecting this vessel, and his dust, with some had been enough to return him from the dead. However, despite him having grown used to this leafy state of his, he couldn’t wait to get his real body back. The only problem now, was you. 

Flowey clenches his teeth in frustration. This was so stupid! 

He couldn’t kill the kid with you around! His magic attacks seemed to be pointless against that shield of yours, and he couldn’t pull out your soul. Just what the heck were you made of?

For a while, he lashed out in a secluded corner of the Ruins, reducing an entire wall into purple rubble. Then, a thought occurred to him. Maybe the reason he couldn’t pull out your soul was... 

Flowey grinned. Well, _that_ would definitely make things MUCH more interesting. 

He remembered the look in your eyes when you sent your weapon hurling straight at him. The expression on your face was almost like looking into a mirror. You had the eyes of a remorseless killer. Just. Like. Him.

Laughing, Flowey ducks underground. It was time to make a quick trip and visit his good, old friend, Papyrus.

He couldn’t get rid of you, but maybe there was something else he could do...

 

* * *

* * *

* * *

 

A gust of wind momentarily displaces the snow, sending forth a foggy mist of cold and chill. A single, yellow flower shivers beneath the soil. 

It mumbles to itself before surfacing. "What an idiot."

Six, half-frozen petals curl closer to its face, shielding it from the frost. The tip of its upper right petal revealed a small, vertical slit. 

Flowey grits his teeth in pain. As a flower, he hated the cold, especially in this stupid snow-covered part of underground. Still, he trailed after you two as you went deeper into Snowdin forest. 

He was bored. 

Flowey had done everything there was to do down here. He read every book, then burned every book. Befriended every monster, then killed every monster. He already had his fun. There was nothing else left to try, and the boredom that followed nearly drove him crazy. 

The best thing that happened to him after waking up as a flower was when Frisk finally fell into the underground. They kept him entertained for a looooong time. Even better, **Chara** was with them. Sometimes.

In the beginning, he just called them that as a joke. Besides their similar “fashion choices,” the stupid kid was nothing like his best friend. They were weak and merciful. Watching them try and befriend every monster made him feel sick, that is... until things started to change.

It began so slowly that Flowey didn’t even notice it at first. The human ignored his advice to kill, so for awhile, the underground was riddled with reloads.

When Frisk finally made it to the barrier, they didn’t leave. Instead, the idiot decided that they wanted to create the perfect run-through; one where they could journey across the entire underground without dying. Of course, they continued to get themselves killed because they refused to fight. 

He didn’t understand why the human was so fixated on staying down here. They'd just get bored, like he did.

In his opinion, it was all a big waste of their determination. Still, he’d follow behind them each time to watch. In a way, it was like watching a good show. They used their power to reset time, back to when they first fell, every time they got killed. They did this over and over and over again...

At first, he was just going to use the kid to trick Asgore into giving him the six human souls. With that power, plus their additional seventh soul, he’d transform into the true god of this world. His playground would no longer be limited to just within the barrier. He’ll rule over the entire world! 

His plans were never realized, however. 

Before Frisk managed to complete their perfect, little run-through, something inside of them changed. It started out small; little flashes of temper where the human chose to FIGHT the monsters they encountered instead of ACT, pacifying them through brute force.

With every reset, however, he felt their control over the timeline gradually slip away. Sometimes, they'd space out, like their soul wasn’t really there. 

One day, the kid finally snapped. As the dust of their first kill scattered over their body, Flowey thought he saw a flicker of red in the human’s eyes.

Unknowingly, something inside him called out. _Chara._

Faint tremors beneath the hard, frozen soil, rolled against his roots, warning him of footsteps heading this way. You and Frisk were coming back. 

With a smile, Flowey quickly vanishes underground. “Hee hee, just you wait...”

 

* * *

* * *

* * *

 

As much as you tried, you couldn’t decipher the meaning behind some of the child’s actions.

After loosening the plate of frozen spaghetti, they refused to eat it. Instead, they went back and stored the plate in the box you two passed earlier. 

Then, further down the road, they asked you to sit out of the fight during one of their encounters with another canine-shaped monster. You sat in the snow and waited. In the end, all they did was continuously pet the dog for fifteen minutes. The child’s system eventually questioned if they had a problem when, Lesser Dog’s head managed to reach all the way up to the ceiling of the underground and then back down again, somehow. 

You felt like there was some crucial information about monster norms and social customs that you were missing. Thinking it over once more, you deduced that it was the only logical conclusion you could come up with to explain these odd occurrences. At least for now.

On the other hand, the child seemed be quite comfortable down here. They reacted to everything in a manner only achievable by experience. Even their responses to some of the more uncommon, and uniquely-shaped monsters, looked practiced. 

When you confirmed their ability to rewind time, you already knew that something strange was going on. Such power being present in a young, human child was unheard of, even in your world, which was filled with all sorts of magical beings and space-time rifts. 

However, you were completely uninterested in this matter and couldn’t be bothered to investigate. You even went as far as to avoid asking all of the obvious questions when an opportunity presented itself. Such a task was not part of your mission. 

To you, as long as Frisk remained safe before reaching the barrier, the rest was none of your concern. And so, you watched on and said nothing.

After encountering and pacifying another pair of dogs, you encounter a floor puzzle with two blue X’s. The spikes blocking the route were active.

A wooden sign in front of the trap provides you with some instructions. 

* _Turn every X into an O._  
* _Then press the switch._

The child makes short work of the simple, double X puzzle. 

Afterwards, they gave you the 'up signal', which was just them raising both of their arms out at you. 

"..." 

You end up having to carry them again.

Standing just beyond the spikes, the tall skeleton looks surprised when he notices the two of you walk over.

“WHAT? HOW DID YOU AVOID MY TRAP? AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY... IS THERE ANY LEFT FOR ME???”

You stare blankly at the eager expression on his face. Frisk just smiles and holds up their sketchbook.

[We ate it!]

You play along with the lie, thinking, _does it make any difference?_

Papyrus, however, looks extremely happy at their answer and clasps both sides of his skull with an expression of joy.

“WOWIE! NO ONE’S EVER ENJOYED MY COOKING BEFORE... FRET NOT, HUMANS! I, MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS WILL MAKE YOU TWO ALL THE PASTA YOU COULD EVER WANT! HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH NYEH!”

You shoot the child a side glance. Actually, it would resolve one of your primary concerns if the tall skeleton decided to feed the human regularly.

With his brother nowhere in sight, Papyrus explains that while waiting for you two to arrive, he tried to rearrange the puzzle to look more like his face, only for it to freeze in-place before he could figure out the solution. 

“... AND, AS USUAL, MY LAZY BROTHER IS NOWHERE AROUND.”

The skeleton turns face the two of you with a confident grin. 

“I SUPPOSE WHAT I’M SAYING IS... WORRY NOT, HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL SOLVE THIS CONUNDRUM! THEN WE CAN BOTH PROCEED! MEANWHILE, FEEL FREE TO TRY THE PUZZLE YOURSELF! I’LL TRY NOT TO GIVE AWAY THE ANSWER!!”

Frisk smiles up at you, refusing to budge from your arms. 

[Try and solve it! Psst: you can ask Papyrus for help if you get stuck.]

They give you a wink.

Unable to think of anything to say, you resign yourself to the task and take a look at the puzzle. It was a complicated version of the previous one. 

There were more blue X’s to turn into O’s, but the rules remained the same. Following the route, there were three potential entrances and exits. All you had to do was cross each of the blue X's once. You take a moment to calculate a valid path and begin.

   @@@@   @@  
@   X      X    X @  
@   @@@X @X @  
@      X   X X X @  
      X@@X    @  
      XX XX  
  @@@@@@

Starting from the entrance closest to you, you walk in a straight line to the farthest end of the puzzle.

   @@@@   @@  
@   X      X    X @  
@   @@@X @X @  
@      O  O OO @  
      X@@X    @  
      XX XX  
  @@@@@@

Then you head north and make a left turn.

   @@@@   @@  
@   X      O   O @  
@   @@@X @O @  
@      O  O OO @  
      X@@X    @  
      XX XX  
  @@@@@@

By now, both Frisk and Papyrus were watching you move with creased brows. You paid them no attention and begin to head south. The child stops you for a second to tell you that if you touch the X again after turning it into an O, it will become a triangle and then you’d have to start over. 

You stare at the unavoidable O in front of you for a brief moment before simply hopping over it. You continue down the path and make a right turn.

   @@@@   @@  
@   X      O    O @  
@   @@@O @O @  
@      O  O  OO @  
      X@@O    @  
      OOOO  
   @@@@@@

The tall skeleton’s jaw hangs agape as you quickly step on the last two X’s before activating the switch. 

   @@@@   @@          ::  
@   O      O   O @      ::  
@   @@@O @O @      ::  
@      O   O OO @      ::  
      O@@O    @         ::  
      OO OO               ::  
   @@@@@@             ::

**_Kachak. ___** __The spikes deactivate._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The amount of coding needed to create a visual representation of Papyrus' puzzle was insane. (OᗩO)՞
> 
> Yo, peeps. B) There's been a change in plans. I'm pushing through and making it a personal goal to reach Chapter 18 before summer break ends. (Whether I make it or not is still up for debate. Wish me luck! ;D) - As you can see, I'm an indecisive mess.
> 
> Special Thanks to the Following Readers:
> 
> **ShadeofSilver** & **Non_Suspicious**  
>  For your kind praise and mutual love for messing with Sans. Promise that there will more of them up ahead. *Audible Wink* 
> 
> **The Normal Meatball** & **Reika**  
>  For your amazing encouragement and ongoing support. Always happy to see you in the comments. (´ ▽｀).。
> 
>  **Oh My** (Aka: **MeepDaLoop** )  
> You have them to thank for handing me the motivation to post this chapter, and kicking the temporary hiatus in the shins. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone that left a kudos or comment on Chapter 13.  
> I'll do my best to kick these guys into Snowdin town quickly, so that we can have some other, plot-related fun. (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ✧


	15. Puzzles And Japes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Are we there yet?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! Thank you for reading. Kudos and comments are always appreciated~ ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎

**Kachak**. The spikes deactivate.

The tall skeleton’s jaw hangs agape, and the child, too, turns to look at you with surprise, although you didn't understand why. You exit the puzzle through the way you came.

Papyrus recollects himself and clears his throat.

“AHEM. YOU SOLVED IT!! ALTHOUGH, THE WAY YOU DID IT WAS RATHER UNORTHODOX... I GUESS I CAN MAKE AN EXCEPTION THIS TIME! AFTER ALL, YOU DID IT WITHOUT MY HELP! I’M IMPRESSED, HUMANS!! YOU TWO MUST CARE ABOUT PUZZLES LIKE I DO!”

You didn’t particularly care for them, but you neither affirm nor deny his words.

“WELL, I’M SURE YOU’LL LOVE THE NEXT PUZZLE THEN! IT MIGHT EVEN BE TOO EASY FOR YOU!! NYEH! HEH HEH! HEHEHEH!!!”

The tall skeleton sprints away. 

Carrying the child, you follow him across the deactivated trap, only to find his brother standing there at the other end. _When did he appear?_

You frown. It's becoming more and more difficult for your senses to keep track of him when you aren't paying attention. 

Sans casually waves to the two of you when you approach. Unlike Papyrus, his expression barely ever changes.

You gaze back at the shorter skeleton, unable to guess what he was thinking. Other than that one incident in the beginning, you hadn’t noticed anything strange between his interactions with Frisk. So far, he seems pretty content with just observing them from the sidelines. 

“heya. good job on solving it so quickly.” Sans comments when you stop in front of him.

“you didn’t even need my help. which is great, ‘cause i love doing absolutely nothing.”

Frisk gives him a thumbs up and you nod as well. If given the choice, you would've also preferred to do nothing. You had already taken a few steps past the short skeleton, when his voice stops you again. 

"i gotta say that i'm surprised. didn't take you for the puzzle-solving type at first, but you're doing pretty well for yourself." 

Having frozen mid-step, you turn back to see Sans' gaze directed at you. The number of exchanges you have had with him were all brief, and usually involved Frisk in one way or another. You didn't expect him to initiate a conversation with you all of a sudden. 

After the initial shock wore off, you decide to wait and hear what he has to say. 

"you even found the typo in my word search. heh. you have to admit. no one was getting past that one." 

He continues, winking at you with his right eye-socket. 

You nod a second time. The puzzle he prepared for the child had indeed been impossible to solve.

A period of silence permeates through the air while the two of you stare back at each other. The skeleton is the first to break it. 

"...not much of a talker, are you? well then, let's just get to the point. i've been doing some thinking and..." 

His gaze rests on you for a second before it shifts away.

"remember that first puzzle you two went through? yeah, the invisible electricity maze. my brother thinks there's something wrong with the glass orb. y'know, the thing that's supposed to send out an electric shock whenever somebody takes a wrong step through the maze. that one." 

In the middle of his explanation, Sans shoves his hands into his coat pockets. 

"now, the funny thing is, the orb was working just fine before papyrus started the puzzle. in fact, he was even zapped by it once. must've hertz. heheh..." 

He flicks you a glance. "no reaction, huh? and that was a good one too." 

He closes his eye-sockets after mumbling the last part to himself. When they open again, the previous humor in his eyes are gone. Instead, his two white eye-lights fixes steadily on you with an unreadable expression.

“so, do you get what i’m saying? it’s already weird that you were able to casually stroll through half the maze incorrectly, but weirder still, is that you left without feeling a single thing. in fact, i’d say that it’s almost an in-HUMAN feat, which would make it pretty hard..." 

He pauses. 

"...for a _human_ such as yourself to pull off. if the kid had been in your place. well, i'm sure you can guess that the result would've been very different. " 

You tilt your head, wondering where he was going with all of this. The blue-hooded skeleton wore an expectant look on his face, like he was waiting for you to explain. But, he hasn't asked you a direct question yet, so how were you supposed to respond?

You run the conversation through your head again, feeling mildly irritated. Usually, you wouldn't have to think about such complicated matters. 

After filtering through all the unnecessary information, from his words, you picked up he was just interested in knowing how you passed through the electricity puzzle unscathed. The answer to that was quite simple, really.

“I’m not – ” _**SMACK.**_

The flat side of a familiar-looking sketchbook abruptly smashes against your face, interrupting your response. It slides down slowly and you reach up to catch it with your free hand before it falls. You glance over to Frisk in confusion. What did they do that for? 

The child gives you a barely discernible head-shake, jerking their eyes towards Sans. 

Did they not want him to know? Now that you think about it, if you openly spread the fact that you weren't human to others, then it would just lead to them asking you even more bothersome questions. You’d have to tread carefully in order to prevent that from happening. 

Wordlessly, you hand them back their sketchbook.

You look up just as Sans releases a single, low chuckle, his eye-sockets closed.

“heh. forget it.”

Frisk didn’t write nor indicate that they wanted to stay, so you continue on and walk past the short skeleton, ignoring his neutral stare. 

After some distance, the child lets out a big yawn and slowly rubs their eyelids. You glance down and notice that they looked slightly worn out.

“Tired?” You ask after seeing them blink a few times, in an attempt to keep themselves awake.

They begin to shake their head at your inquiry, but then seem to decide against it. Faint wrinkles appear at the center of their forehead, as the child stares up at you. You resist the urge to smoothen them out. 

There's a flicker of hesitation in their soft, brown eyes. Eventually, though, they flip to a blank page in their sketchbook.

[A little bit. Do you think we can stop at the INN later? I want to take a nap.]

“Did you not have a sufficient amount of rest in the Ruins?” You remembered that you had waited outside their door for quite some time at Toriel's house. Surely, they didn’t need to sleep again so soon.

Frisk turns to look at you in surprise. 

[You were there?!]

You nod.

Looking a bit sheepish, they shake their head in response.

[I just pretended to take a nap. I wasn’t really asleep.]

“Why?”

The child doesn't immediately respond and just focuses their attention on your face instead, like they were caught off-guard by your sudden interest in their actions. They even seemed a little bit happy? Perhaps it was unexpected, but their answer did leave you curious. 

[To wait for the pie to cool.]

Their response was so baffling that you felt a slight tug on the corners of your lips. Despite being skeptical of their words, you push the feeling aside and decide not to probe any further. 

The next room showcased the white and grey-tiled floor. The two skeletons brothers stood on the other side, next to a large, rectangular machine.

You are slightly surprised to see Sans standing there. Didn't you walk past him only a little while ago? _I wonder if there's a limit to the distance he can instantly travel to and from._ You think quietly to yourself, remembering the teleportation skill he had used earlier. 

Papyrus, again, notices your arrival first. His face lights up upon seeing the two of you.

“HEY! ITS THOSE HUMANS!”

Sans looks over casually while his brother makes a grand gesture, directing your attention to the tiled-floor.

“YOU TWO ARE GONNA LOVE THIS PUZZLE! IT WAS MADE BY THE GREAT DR. ALPHYS! YOU SEE THESE TILES!? ONCE I THROW THIS SWITCH, THEY WILL BEGIN TO CHANGE COLOR!”

While the tall skeleton was busy explaining the long list of rules, you zoned out of the conversation mid-way through and opted to stare blankly into the distance instead. These puzzles were beginning to grow cumbersome. 

On your own, you were able to traverse through Snowdin forest in less than 10 minutes. You expected that with the child, it would take longer, but this was getting ridiculous. Every puzzle was accompanied by a round of lengthy rules and conversations. At this rate, it would take the two of you at least several hours to reach town. 

It could prove to be a problem if Frisk ended up falling asleep before that. Without their constant presence guiding you through Snowdin, you would no longer be motivated to take certain _precautions_ against harming monsters that try and attack the child. After all, while you could help them dodge magic attacks, it had always been their own actions that ended the fight. 

Besides, an Assassin wasn’t really suited to protect anyone, much less, a fragile human. Nothing about your class was equipped to handle such a task. Your job would be made much easier if you could simply eliminate all the threats, but unfortunately, that wasn't an option for you... yet. 

You didn't want to risk accidentally harming the child, or worse, the child deciding to run away. If something unexpected were to happen, with your skills, you might not be able to save them in time. The only reliable method you could think of to keep them safe was to follow their wishes.

* _Walk forward._

You blink awake at the voice of Frisk’s system echoing inside your head.

You glance down at the child. Their attention was still focused on the tall skeleton. It didn’t seem like they had heard anything. 

A trace of confusion makes its way into your eyes. Why was their system communicating with you all of a sudden? 

Usually, the only time it spoke was when you, or Frisk, interacted with something of interest. You were under the impression that your ability to hear it was simply because the two of you had formed a common party, which intersected your systems. Were you mistaken? 

* _You can walk forward._

By its words, it seemed to be prompting you to move. _Does it have its own consciousness?_

A suffocating feeling begins to sweep over you at the thought. Their voice, while sounding high-pitched and child-like, was completely devoid of emotion. Cold, and monotone, it was beginning to remind you of another, more _familiar_ voice. 

* _You –_

You take a step forward and walk onto the multi-tiled floor, cutting off its next words.

Papyrus, shocked by your action, stops talking. Frisk furrows their eyebrows and sends you a questioning look, but you don’t respond.

You remain there, motionless. Out of the corner of your eye, you notice Sans shift his stance slightly, stuffing his hands deeper into his coat pockets. His expression... was interesting. 

After a few seconds, the tall skeleton exasperatedly turns to his brother. 

“SANS!!! HELP!!! THE HUMANS ARE ALREADY WALKING THROUGH THE PUZZLE! THEY’RE SUPPOSED TO LET ME EXPLAIN IT FIRST, THEN THREATEN AND BAFFLE THEM WITH DANGEROUS JAPES!”

“well, maybe they don’t like japes.” The other responds without missing a beat.

The joking nonchalance was back on the short skeleton’s face, almost as if it had never left. Papyrus huffs in annoyance.

“WHAT!? EVERYONE LIKES JAPES!!!”

“what about undyne? doesn’t she hate puzzles?”

“SHE HATES PUZZLES, BUT SHE LOVES JAPES.”

“that makes sense.”

You watched the two brothers banter back and forth, silently disagreeing with what Sans had said. None of this was making any sense to you. 

Although... 

Undyne. You recall that name being mentioned briefly by the two skeletons a while ago. Were they another skeleton-shaped monster? 

“HUMAN! WHAT DO YOU THINK? PUZZLES OR JAPES?”

Caught unprepared, you just stare blankly back at the tall skeleton without answering his question. You must have taken too long to respond because he sighs a moment later.

“...OKAY, THIS IS NORMALLY THE PART WHERE YOU EITHER AGREE OR DISAGREE. AND DEPENDING ON YOUR ANSWER, WE SAY SOMETHING GREAT IN RESPONSE.”

Papyrus turns to the child in your arms next. 

“WHAT ABOUT YOU, TINY HUMAN? PUZZLES OR JAPES?”

Frisk quickly scribbles something into their sketchbook before holding it up for him to read.

“SEE, SANS? LIKE I SAID, EVERYONE LIKES JAPES! EVEN THE TINY HUMAN AGREES WITH ME!”

"guess you're right, bro, but the one behind the kid hasn't gotten the memo."

The tall skeleton looks startled for a split second, like he had forgotten about you. He glances at your spot and his expression falls slightly before instantly transforming into a confident grin again. 

“I BET YOU ALSO LIKE JAPES, EVEN IF YOU WON’T ADMIT IT! HUMAN. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM EXTENDING A SPECIAL INVITATION TO PERSONALLY TEACH YOU THE INTRICACIES OF GOOD JAPERY! UH, LATER... THAT IS, ONCE YOU'VE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY CAPTURED!!" 

For some reason, he strikes a dramatic pose mid-speech. 

"I'M SURE THAT, WITH THE SUPERIOR TEACHING CAPABILITIES OF SOMEONE OF MY CALIBER, YOU'LL QUICKLY COME TO LOVE THEM AS MUCH AS I DO!! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!!!”

Internally, you dismiss his offer. Just the thought of becoming a prisoner again filled your mind with unpleasant memories. _As for being captured..._

You wouldn't give him the chance. 

The tall skeleton doesn't seem to mind your lack of response this time. 

“I UNDERSTAND HOW EXCITING THIS MUST FEEL FOR YOU!! AFTER ALL, YOU'RE GETTING AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE UNDER THE TUTELAGE OF SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME! THE HONOR, THE FAME, THE FEELING OF BEING ABLE TO BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING... AHEM. WHAT I MEAN IS, WHY DON'T YOU TAKE SOME TIME TO THINK ABOUT IT?" 

Papyrus sets down a piece of paper that's covered in messy writing before planting both hands on his bony hips.

“HERE, WE'LL SKIP THIS PUZZLE FOR NOW.”

He turns to leave and jogs out of sight. You notice that he’s moving a bit slower this time. 

Sans has already disappeared by the time you look back.

For a while, the two of you walk down the path in complete silence. Along the way, you absentmindedly pass through some familiar-looking places. 

After following its instruction, Frisk’s system behaved like how it used to. With the exception of narrating an occasional line or two, whenever you and the child encountered a monster, it didn't speak.

Thinking back to the ominous message you received after completing ‘ball game,’ in addition to that black, goopy substance, the number of strange occurrences happening around you was only increasing. You couldn't help but wonder if all of this was tied to something bigger.

There's this unshakable feeling in the back of your mind that some kind of threat is looming over the distance, undetected and brewing. 

Internally, you shake your head at the thought. Perhaps you were thinking too much into this. Besides, any movements made harboring ill-intent would naturally be picked up by your senses. 

While you were still lost in thought, you didn’t notice that you had made a wrong turn until Frisk pats your shoulder for your attention. 

You look up and see Sans in the distance. It didn’t seem like he had noticed the two of you there yet. 

The skeleton was standing next to the side of a cliff. Above him were three large, and pitch-black, holes, carved onto the side of the wall. Each hole contained two pairs of mysterious, glowing lights, that occasionally blinked back at you like eyes.

You meet the child’s conflicted gaze. They hold up their sketchbook in front of them for you to read.

[Can I ask you something?]

You nod.

[Why did you move before the puzzle started?]

You stare back at them silently, unsure how to respond. 

Should you tell them that their system had started talking to you and prompted you to move? Would they even believe that? _Not likely._

It wasn’t like you had been forced to do anything. In your surprise, you had just simply complied with the system’s request without thinking. There wouldn't be a second time.

Seeing you shake your head, the child picks up their crayon.

[It’s okay, you don’t have to answer. Just don’t do that again, ok?]

Their grip tightens on the sketchbook all of a sudden, and you feel their small body tense up in your arms. 

Frisk’s eyes were shifted to your right so you follow their gaze, only to find... Sans.

A wave of alarm rushes through your veins as you struggle against the urge to immediately attack the monster that had seemingly appeared out of thin air. Your eyes shoot back to look at the spot where you had seen him standing in earlier, only to see him... still standing there? 

_Wait... how is he...?_ Your previous feelings of uncertainty quickly transforms into confusion. 

You glance to your right. The skeleton was there. You glance back ahead. The skeleton was still there. 

"..." 

You opted to focus your attention on the spot closest to you, and your eyes instinctively narrow upon seeing the subtle look of triumph sparkling behind those white eye-lights. 

“what’s up?” He asks in a casual manner. 

[We went the wrong way.] Frisk explains. They seem to have been released from their previous tension, and now wore a small, but tired, smile.

“the next puzzle is ‘cross the bridge.” Sans jerks a bony thumb in the direction you just came, informing the two of you.

The child nods their head in thanks and you immediately turned around to walk back. 

Once you reached the stretch of ground near the bridge, Frisk squirms in your hold and you set them down. The tired look on their face is replaced with a bright smile as they ran toward one of the many mounds of snow scattered across the ground.

After touching one, the child quickly sprints over to the next. One by one, they went up to each mound and gave it a little pat. The voice of their system chimes in behind them, barely keeping up with their pace.

* _It’s a snow poff._  
* _And this... is a snow poff._  
* _This, however, is a snow poff._  
* _Surprisingly, it’s a snow poff._  
* _Snow poff..._  
* _Is it really a snow poff?_  
* _Behold! A snow poff._

You raise a brow as you listened to the series of narration bombarding the inside of your head. Was it really necessary for the information to be repeated like this? You played with the idea of temporarily disbanding the group so you could relieve yourself of the noise. 

You understood. These mounds of snow were called snow poffs. 

Fortunately, there were only so many snow poffs lying around, so the child eventually reached the last two.

* _Eh? There’s 30 G inside this... what is this?_

You walk over and stand behind them, looking at the second-to-last snow mound. Was there something different about this one?

* _It’s a snow poff._

“...”

You didn’t know what you expected. _Only one more left._

You crouch down next to the last snow poff and gave it a pat, like you saw Frisk do with the others. Your brows crease slightly when you detect a trace of life from underneath the mound.

A large, looming shadow arises from the snow poff, and your field of view is suddenly replaced by a mix of something metallic, white, and furry?

*** _It’s the Greater Dog._**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Please Note]: I'm still editing this. You'll notice changes in dialogue and some minor details. Stay tuned!
> 
> Special Thanks to the Following Readers:
> 
> **ShadeofSilver**  
>  For your endless support, and offering me some much needed (plus inspirational) advice. You lift my spirits high~
> 
>  **purpleSquiggles** & **Oh My**  
>  For your awesome feedback on Chapter 14 and questions about the story. I'm encouraged by your curiosity! 
> 
> **Zelderpp**  
>  For never failing feed the bunny and then drowning me in your kindness and support. Thank you so much. (´∀｀)♡
> 
> Thank you to everyone that left a kudos or comment on Chapter 14!  
> We'll be wrapping up the last of Snowdin Forest in the next chapter. [The internal thoughts of a certain author]: _Finally!_
> 
> [Update as of **1 2/26/2017**]:   
> 
> 
> Heya Peepos! There _will_ definitely be a chapter out soon. Hooray! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ✧   
> 
> 
> Third year is taking its toll on me, but the good news is I'll have plenty of time to write now that my exams are over. I'm kinda late on getting the next update out, however Chapter 16 will be up before New Years! That much I can promise this time~ (ᗒヮᗕ)՞✧   
> I hope you guys **H ave a Merry Christmas! \+ A Happy New Year!** I'll see ya guys soon~ VERY SOON. heheh... yep. so stay safe.   
> (Currently, I'm trying to learn their speech habits & individual personalities right now. This is what's causing the delay, but I'm doing my best! 〒▽〒) 
> 
> Oh and just a heads up! I've made some significant dialogue changes and a few other, minor tweaks in this chapter, so I suggest checking them out again. Maybe just skim over it briefly so ya don't get confused in later updates~ (Yes, I'm still editing! :P) 
> 
> Your Patience and Perseverance is appreciated. _Thank You Very Much_. ღゝ◡╹)ノ ♡


	16. I Know What I Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another Sans POV. This is a brief intermission while I work on the main story (It's already written and will be posted next week).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! Thank you for reading. Kudos and comments are always appreciated~ ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎

The kid was hiding something from him. 

To be honest, it wasn’t really a big deal whether or not you passed through the maze unfazed. 

Essentially, the invisible electricity maze was just a larger, remodeled, version of a hand-buzzer that he picked up from the garbage dump. After using it a couple of times, Papyrus had gotten mad at him and stopped falling for his handshake pranks, so Sans created the electric orb instead. 

All he did was fiddle around with the hand buzzer a little, add some spare parts and rewire it to increase the voltage. Some programming here, a bit of magic there, and the device could be opened up to select designated points, which, when passed, triggers an electric shock through the orb. 

Of course, this only worked within a limited space, since it was designed to be a one-use item. Its main purpose? To mess with Papyrus. 

Like usual, the prank gift was signed with his name and placed underneath the Gyftmas tree, next to another action figure that was addressed to his brother, but from ‘Santa.’ It took Papyrus nearly the entire afternoon to realize the lightning zaps were coming from the ‘strange egg’ that Sans gave him, and not the floor. Safe to say, his brother was not amused. 

As an apology, he explained how the device worked and gradually forgot about it until Papyrus asked him to incorporate the electric orb into one of his puzzles. He wasn’t surprised. His brother was always finding new ways to re-adjust his traps. 

Just the other day, he added fire to one of them. Sans wondered if Papyrus realized the puzzle might flambe the human instead of capturing them. 

Although the electric maze wasn’t completely harmless, it couldn’t be considered all that dangerous either. The problem was your reaction. 

He could understand it if you were just tolerating the shocks, but for a brief moment, you seemed almost disappointed. It was like you were testing them for something. He tried to probe you, but didn’t get much information out of it in the end. 

Seeing as neither you nor the kid wanted to tell him anything, he decided to drop it. As for the rest... Well. It was too soon for that.

Sans stood next to his brother, watching your encounter with Greater Dog. The two of them were on the other side of the wooden bridge. 

Both hands stuffed snuggly into his coat pockets, Sans snickers lightly at the sight of Greater Dog taking a nap on you. 

It seems to have grown tired after playing in the snow with Frisk, and ended up taking advantage of your sitting position to rest its large body over your legs. You were effectively trapped in place. _that can’t be comfortable._ He thought, glancing at their thick suit of armor. 

You didn’t seem to mind, however. Even from this distance, he could make out your usual blank expression. At most, you would occasionally look slightly confused, like you didn’t understand something. He still couldn’t read you properly, but his initial bad impression of you had softened a bit.

At least he knew now that you weren’t going to go around dusting everyone anytime soon. The kid had you on a tight leash, and they seemed rather friendly this time around. The only problem was... he’s read enough of the reports in his lab to know he can’t afford to let his guard down. 

It’s possible that the kiddo might suddenly have a change of heart, like the last run, and go on one of their ‘little’ murder sprees again. 

_heh._ Sans laughs darkly to himself as his gaze shifts from you to Frisk. _with the way things are going now... well, i won’t ask for much this time around._ He just hoped the two of you could keep this up until you reached waterfall. The kid could manage that much, right?

Good food, bad laughs, some friends... 

None of those things were able to convince the kid to stop resetting. Even if your presence this time manages to change a few things here or there, _in the end, it’ll all just go back to zero_. So what’s the point in trying? He should just accept this and giv- 

“... SANS!!”

His brother’s voice suddenly cuts into the messy thoughts running through his mind. “huh...? wha?”

“SANS!!! SPEAK TO ME, BROTHER!! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!?” 

Papyrus’ voice reverberate loudly in front of him while a ringing noise bounces through his skull. 

Unbeknownst to Sans, at some point, Papyrus had decided to lift him up and was currently shaking him silly.

“uh. papyrus, i heard you the first time. you can put me down.” He was beginning to see double.

Fortunately, Papyrus stops shaking him and frowns instead. “BUT I’VE CALLED YOU AT LEAST FIVE TIMES ALREADY!”

“heh. s’fine. i was just taking a nap.”

“WITH YOUR EYE-SOCKETS OPEN?”

“we’re skeletons aren’t we?”

“OF COURSE. WHY WOULD YOU EVEN ASK ME THAT?! BUT, UH. SANS? DON’T YOU NORMALLY NAP WITH YOUR EYE-SOCKETS CLOSED???”

“hey. napping happens to be my favourite hobby. maybe i need more practice... zZZ”

“SANS!! ”

“good nitrogen bro.”

“SANS! WAKE UP THIS INSTANT! WAIT, WAS THAT ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE SCIENCE PUNS? AGAIN?!? YOU KNOW I DON’T UNDERSTAND THE PTERODACTYL TABLE!" 

“periodic table... zZZ” He mumbles in his ‘sleep.’

“SAAAANS!!”

Still grinning, he weakly cracks open an eye-socket. “sup?”

Papyrus glares at him. “I’M BEING SERIOUS HERE.”

“ok. i’ll continue being sans.”

Papyrus angrily stamps his foot on the spot, venting his frustration. The several dull thuds are accompanied by a displeased groan. “UGH!”

 _heh, that joke never gets old_. From the looks of it, his brother was gonna blow a fuse soon. He should probably quit now while he’s ahead. The last time he took it too far, Papyrus buried him in the snow... under at least a dozen buckets of frozen spaghetti. 

“heheheh. relax bro. i’m just pulling your leg-bone.”

“WELL, STOP DOING THAT!! ANYWAYS, I’VE TOLD YOU BEFORE, YOU NEED TO MAINTAIN HEALTHIER HABITS AS A SENTRY! WHAT IF YOU END UP TAKING A NAP IN FRONT OF THE HUMANS WHEN I’M NOT THERE?!? YOU’LL RUIN ALL THE WORK I’VE PUT INTO CAPTURING THEM!!!” 

Papyrus scolds, giving him an earful. Then, as if he remembered something important, Papyrus pauses to scrutinize him for a minute. 

“HMMM... IF YOU’RE NOT FEELING WELL. MAYBE WE CAN... W-WE CAN...”

Sans’ grin stretches wider at his brother’s obvious reluctance. “we can what?” 

“SIGH. IT PAINS ME TO SAY THIS... BUT WE CAN TRY TAKING ONE OF THOSE “BREAKS” THAT YOU SUGGESTED BEFORE.”

“didn’t you say that breaks are just an excuse to be lazy?”

“YES, BECAUSE THEY ARE!!! THE GREAT PAPYRUS DOESN’T NEED TO TAKE BREAKS! OR WORSE, A DAY OFF!! ANYWAY, NORMALLY I’D TRY TO STOP YOU FROM SLACKING OFF AGAIN. BUT, JUST THIS ONCE... I’LL ALLOW IT!”

“huh. and what sort of break do you have in mind?”

“PREFERABLY, A SHORT ONE!!”

Sans finally lets out a small chuckle. 

“nah, it’s ok. besides, my break schedule is already at maximum capacity.” He winks.

Papyrus squints at him skeptically. “ARE YOU REALLY OKAY OR ARE YOU JUST SAYING THAT?” 

“like i said. i’m fine.”

“HMM... IF YOU SAY SO SANS. I’LL BELIEVE YOU. BUT! PROMISE ME THAT YOU’LL SAY SOMETHING IF YOU’RE NOT FEELING WELL!!”

He gives a noncommittal hum in response. 

“SANS.” He could hear the faint warning behind his brother’s tone.

Deflating like a released balloon, he sighs in defeat. “ok. i promise.”

“...I APOLOGIZE SANS. I DIDN’T MEAN TO FORCE YOU. YOU DON’T HAVE TO SAY ANYTHING IF YOU REALLY DON’T WANT TO. IT’S JUST...” 

Papyrus’ eyes dart around the place for a second before he suddenly takes a deep breath.

“SOMETIMES YOU GET THAT STRANGE LOOK ON YOUR FACE. AND I... I’M JUST... I’M REALLY WORRIED ABOUT YOU! YOU NEVER TELL ME WHAT YOU’RE THINKING. YOU NEVER TELL ANYONE WHAT YOU’RE THINKING.” 

On the surface, Sans’ expression doesn’t change, but something sharp twists inside of his ribcage when he sees his brother’s anxious face. 

“heh. you don’t need to apologize, papyrus. i get it. sorry for worrying you. anyways, you can relax now. i’ve already promised you, haven’t i? i’ll say something if i don’t feel well." He closes his eyes. _just like how i’m saying something right now._

“WHATEVER’S BOTHERING YOU... I’M SURE WE CAN FIND THE SOLUTION IF WE JUST STICK OUR CRANIUMS TOGETHER!! METAPHORICALLY SPEAKING, OF COURSE! I LOVE YOU BROTHER, BUT I CANNOT HAVE YOU CONSTANTLY EMITTING SLIME ON MY BATTLE-BODY. WHAT WOULD UNDYNE THINK?!"

“uh. i don’t really think she’d care?”

“YOU’RE RIGHT. UNDYNE’S ARMOR IS PROBABLY FILLED WITH SLIME. SHE ALWAYS OOZES A LAYER OF IT AFTER COMPLETING ONE OF OUR WORK-OUTS.” 

“that’s called sweat.”

“SANS!!! THAT’S BESIDES THE POINT!! MY BATTLE-BODY NEEDS TO REMAIN CLEAN, OR ELSE I WON’T BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN MY GOOD PUBLIC IMAGE! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO POLISH WET ARMOR?!?” 

Papyrus takes a moment to clear his throat.

“ANYWAYS, WE’RE GETTING OFF TOPIC AGAIN. THE POINT IS. AS YOUR BROTHER, I’M HERE FOR YOU IF YOU NEED ME, SO I’D APPRECIATED IT IF YOU’D STOP KEEPING EVERYTHING TO YOURSELF ALL THE TIME. I WANT TO HELP YOU FEEL BETTER!”

“huh. that’s amazing, bro. cause i can already feel it working.”

“NYEH HEH HEH HEH!! BUT OF COURSE! AFTER ALL, I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS. AND THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS AN EXPERT WHEN IT COMES TO CHEERING PEOPLE UP WHEN THEY FEEL DOWN!! ...I’M GLAD WE HAD THIS TALK, BROTHER.”

“me too.”

Papyrus sets him down, and returns his attention back to you and Frisk. Sans internally lets out a breath of relief before doing the same. 

Greater Dog was finished with their nap and was now playing fetch-the-knife. You stood off to the side with a comical expression on your face while the armored dog ran circles around you. It was chasing after one of your dangerous-looking weapons. 

_uh. is that safe?_ Probably not. But he wasn’t about to stop you. The kid looked like they were ready to throw in the second one. 

He found it difficult tell what you were thinking, and your actions only made it harder for him to read you. Well. That and your indifferent face. 

Somehow, it was fun to get a rise out of you though. Your annoyed responses to his jokes reassured him that you weren’t like a certain red-eyed kid he wanted to avoid. The last thing he needed was there to be _two_ of them. Only...

It’s too bad you never react to his puns. Maybe you just didn’t understand them? He had a feeling that was the case.

Sans scratched the side of his skull before focusing his gaze on the lever sitting next to his brother. There was only one more puzzle left to complete in Snowdin. The final one was something that his brother and Undyne had come up with together. 

A part of him was looking forward to seeing your reaction, while the other, larger, part of him dreaded thinking about what comes after. 

“SANS?”

“mm?” 

“CAN I CONFIDE IN YOU ON AN IMPORTANT MATTER?”

“sure. what is it?” 

“IT’S ABOUT THOSE HUMANS...”

He had been wondering when Papyrus was going to bring this up. 

“AT FIRST, I THOUGHT I HAD MISTAKEN ONE OF THEM FOR SOMEONE I ALREADY KNEW. WHICH IS WEIRD, BECAUSE I’VE NEVER MET THEM BEFORE!! BUT THEY FEEL REALLY FAMILIAR TO ME! LIKE I KNOW THEM FROM SOMEWHERE!?!”

“huh, that is weird.” 

“REALLY THOUGH!!! THAT TINY HUMAN!!! DO I KNOW THAT PERSON???” 

“do you not know... who you know?”

“PBPBPPBPT!! OF COURSE I KNOW WHO I KNOW!! I WANTED TO KNOW IF YOU KNOW... I KNOW WHO I KNOW AS MUCH AS I KNOW I KNOW WHO I KNOW!”

His brother wears an expression of uncertainty. 

“...YOU KNOW?"

Thankfully, before Papyrus manages to confuse himself even further, a suit of armor, with a fluffy white tail sticking out where the head should be, quickly runs past the two of them and disappears into town. He looks over. You and Frisk were making your way to the center of the bridge.

 _looks like this is it, huh?_ In a daze, he stares at his brother’s red scarf, fluttering gently through the air. Would the kid leave Papyrus alive this time? 

Sans closed his eyes. He didn’t know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CrossBladeWing just bookmarked this work (Between Time and Space was a HUGE inspiration). I think I need to go lie down. (゜゜) 
> 
> Chapter 16 was going to be twice as long, before I suddenly realized it would make more structural sense if I separated it into two parts instead. Besides, trying to edit 14 Microsoft pages all at once is gonna be hell. (๑꒪▿꒪)✧
> 
> I know I said we'd be wrapping up the Snowdin Ark in this chapter, but I wanted to add a thing, so I'm gonna need another one. 
> 
> Consider this an appetizer while I polish up the remaining half of the story. **Chapter 17 will be posted next Friday or Saturday! **  
>  It will be longer than usual and will continue the main plot-line. My apologies for the sudden interlude~ Have a **H appy New Year!**
> 
> Special Thanks to the Following Readers:
> 
> **Oh My** & **ShadesofSilver**  
>  For keeping me company throughout my 4-month hiatus. Thank you for your motivational words and encouragement. (￣︶￣) ✨
> 
>  **purpleSquiggles** \+ **The Normal Meatball** \+ **Reika**  
>  My old friends who continue to return and make me smile. Thank you for all the fun chats. I’m glad you’re doing well. ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ♡
> 
>  **UTtrash666**  
>  For that hilarious bookmark comment. It reads just like a poem and I love it! Glad you’ve found a way to neutralize the Reader. XD
> 
> Thank you to everyone that left a kudos or comment on Chapter 15!  
> I’m extremely happy to see some new faces or, er... profile icons/names. I’m always up for a friendly chat. Thank you all so much!


	17. Dog Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You make some questionable decisions. Also, dogs. Nuff said. (I will probably be editing this chapter a lot.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! Thank you for reading. Kudos and comments are always appreciated~ ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎

You felt that there were many dog-shaped monsters stationed in Snowdin forest. Perhaps, _too_ many.

Canines, or dogs, happened to be one of few you could recognize in the Underground. You were able to identify them from the rest, since your own world housed many similar-looking creatures. Although, you knew not to mistake them for the same. 

The Monster race could exist in many different shapes, forms, and sizes. 

In the short time that you’ve been down here, you’ve met with quite a few of them already. 

Some, such as the frog creatures in the Ruins, were much more abundant in population than the fewer, and less commonly encountered monsters, like Toriel, Flowey, and the two skeleton brothers. They, and an odd ghost-shaped one the child met in the catacombs, were all particularly unique-looking and intelligent monster variants. 

You think the incorporeal one called themselves Naps...? You can’t remember the rest.

So, knowing all of this, it shouldn’t come as a surprise when, you and the child encountered five dogs while traveling through Snowdin forest. However, what you didn’t realize was, there was a requirement for the fifth encounter. A bed. 

The two of you had been stopped in a stretch of open ground, a few meters away from the bridge. Greater Dog, as Frisk’s system calls it, contently wags its tail back and forth in its sleep. The child rests next to their fluffy head. 

You laid there in the snow and quietly stared at the dark ceiling looming above, encircled by snow poffs. 

"..." Last time you checked, you were an assassin, not a mattress. 

With its large body resting over your stomach, the armored canine effectively keeps you trapped in place. Its refusal to budge rendered your attempts to remove it meaningless. Eventually, you just gave up and decided to let it rest on you for a while. 

Besides, neither of your arms were currently free. 

After approximately ten minutes of listening to its growl-like snore, the Greater Dog finally wakes up. With a playful jump, it runs over to nuzzle Frisk's arm. The child giggles and gives the dog an affectionate pat. 

You don't move until the tingling numbness begins to pass from the space where their armor pressed down, and you regain some mobility in your limbs. Brushing off the snow from your body, you glance first at the floating red heart beside you, before directing your attention to the child. 

They were currently staring at the stick in their hands with a pensive look on their face, like they were making a difficult decision. 

“What is it?” You ask. Did they not know how to proceed with the fight?

Frisk blinks at you for a moment. Their eyes slowly shift to look at the space behind your shoulders, and suddenly, they reveal a small smile.

[Hey, can I borrow something from you?] They write with an innocent expression.

You stare back at them, feeling somewhat conflicted. Borrow? From you? Thinking back to the sorry state of your inventory, you couldn’t think of anything you were carrying that could be useful to them. Even so, you found no reason to refuse their request.

“What do you need?”

Their face immediately lights up. [The items on your back! I just need them for the fight.]

Confused, your forehead creases slightly. Were they talking about your daggers? It looked pretty close to the end of the fight with the Greater Dog, so why did the child need your weapons? Despite your lack of understanding, you unsheathe the daggers and hand them over.

Crouching down, you lightly jab the two blades into the ground before pushing the hilts toward them. 

“Careful. Don’t touch the blades.” You warn. Without you wielding them, the daggers were nothing more than sharp pieces of metal.

 _Still. It's better to be cautious._

Frisk nods excitedly, using both of their small hands to pull out one of the weapons. You watch over them curiously. 

They take a tentative step forward, and a strange look flashes across their face. However, it quickly disappears.

The child seems to hesitate briefly before their expression turns resolute, and they take on a determined stance with your blade. 

To your surprise, they don’t try to attack Greater Dog, who continues to wag it’s tail with a happy expression on its face. Instead, they wave it around in the air before reeling back their arm and throwing it, like they did with the toy knife in the Ruins. 

Despite your initial desire to protest, you wanted the encounter to end as soon as possible. So you end up swallowing back the words you were going to say. If throwing your weapon speeds up the process, then so be it. 

The blade lands across from you, and the dog-shaped monster immediately releases an excited bark, before lunging after it. 

You barely have the time to step back, before a ball of armor races past you. Greater Dog picks up the flat-side of your dagger with its teeth before circling around you again. It drops the weapon in front of the child, wagging its tail furiously. Frisk throws the second blade with a laugh. 

After a couple more minutes of this, the canine finally seems content. The child spares them and their soul disappears back into their chest. 

A smaller, fluffier dog leaps out of the metal armor to lick your hand. It also runs over to lick the child’s face before leaving. 

Retrieving your weapons, you return them to your back and let out a silent sigh. 

[Thanks! That was fun.] The child tugs on your hand after writing.

They wave around their stick happily. [And I got to keep my stick.]

“Is it very important to you?” You glance at the seemingly unimpressive piece of wood, not understanding why they were so attached to it. 

They pause to look down at the stick in their grip with an unreadable expression. A second later, they give you a bright smile. 

[Yes, because it’s not just a stick.] 

Not just a stick? You gaze at the thing in their hands. “Then what is it?” 

[It’s a secret.] The child presses a finger to their lips, covering their grin. 

You raise a brow, thinking that perhaps you shouldn’t have asked. However, at the same time, another thought echoes inside your mind. 

_You should try to understand them better._

So you decide to humor them. Kneeling, with one leg in the snow, you level your gaze with theirs and wait for them to continue. 

Although the grin doesn’t leave their face, they pretend to consider it for a second. 

[I guess I can tell you, but only because we’re friends!]

The edges of your mouth lifts into a faintly discernible ark. “I see.”

[It’s not just a stick, it’s my _lucky_ magic stick!]

You’re unsure of how to respond, but their happy expression washes away any other thoughts that might’ve taken form. 

They seemed content and unhurt. That was enough.

You reluctantly admitted that the experience hadn’t really been unpleasant. It was interesting to see your daggers being used for something other than drawing blood for a change. Still, you decided the next time they needed a substitute for their stick, you would find them another one.

Rubbing their eyes, Frisk lets out another yawn, and their smile is quickly replaced with a tired look. 

You instinctively reached out a hand to brush away the white clumps of snow that had gotten stuck in their hair. They ran and rolled on the ground a lot when playing with the dogs. _Did they finally reach their limit?_

“Do you still need me to carry you?” 

They shake their head. [No. I feel more awake like this. Let’s go, they’re waiting for us!] 

Standing up, the child grabs onto your hand and pulls you along. You manage to reach about half-way across the, surprisingly solid, wooden bridge before a loud skeleton stops you.

“HUMAN! THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE!”

 _Good,_ you think. The two of you were already getting close to the outskirts of town, and you didn't know if you could tolerate another puzzle. 

More importantly, Frisk was more exhausted then you initially thought. It didn’t seem like they were just physically tired either. 

_They could use some rest._

“BEHOLD! THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!” Papyrus introduces in a dramatic voice.

You couldn’t help but gaze blankly at the sharp hazardous weapons that suddenly drop from the cliff overhead. 

A large morning star and two sharp-looking blades swung threateningly in the air... you ignored the dog. Looking down, there was even a caldron of fire and a cannon-like object beneath you. This was certainly an upgrade from the last couple of challenges the two skeletons presented. 

“WHEN I SAY THE WORD. IT WILL FULLY ACTIVATE!!! CANNONS WILL FIRE! SPIKES WILL SWING! BLADES WILL SLICE! EACH PART WILL SWING VIOLENTLY UP AND DOWN! ONLY THE TINIEST CHANCE OF VICTORY WILL REMAIN!!!”

For once, you could actually feel the intent to harm from this puzzle. Could it even be called a puzzle? No. It was more like a deadly trap.

“ARE YOU READY!?” BECAUSE! I! AM! ABOUT! TO DO IT!”

“...” 

“......”

“............”

You waited, but nothing happened.

It didn’t seem like you needed to worry about the skeletons endangering the child anytime soon. You took a glance at Sans, who stood quietly off to the side. Something was off about his expression, but you couldn’t quite place what it was. 

His grin was the same, only, his gaze looked more... _intense_ than usual.

Before you had the chance to think deeper into it, the two skeletons abruptly turn away from the bridge. 

“well? what’s the holdup?” 

“HOLDUP!? WHAT HOLDUP!? I’M... I’M ABOUT TO ACTIVATE IT NOW!” 

There’s another long pause.

“that, uh, doesn’t look very activated.” 

“WELL!!!... WHAT IF ONE OF THEM DECIDES TO WALK THROUGH IT AGAIN? THEN, IT WON’T BE ANY FUN AT ALL.” 

“hmmm... so this human thing was a bust, huh?” 

“WELL. I MEAN, NO. I’M HAVING FUN. AND! I’M EXCITED TO CAPTURE THEM SO I’LL BECOME A FAMOUS ROYAL GUARDSMAN!!! BUT, MAYBE YOU WERE RIGHT TO BE LAZY ABOUT PUZZLES SOMETIMES.”

“me? right about something? really?”

“...YEAH!! WHAT AM I SAYING!?! BREAKS ARE COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY! AS FOR WHY THE HUMAN WALKED THROUGH ONE OF MY PUZZLES...”

Papyrus turns to face you. 

“HMM.... YOU MUST BE HAVING CULTURE SHOCK. LUCKILY FOR YOU, I DIDN’T PUT ANY TIME INTO THAT ONE. IT WAS MADE BY DR. ALPHYS!” 

While the skeleton brothers continue to banter back and forth with one another, you take the time to check on the child. 

They seemed relatively relaxed and unafraid. 

Frisk returns your gaze with a friendly smile. [Do you think we can get the dog down?]

You look up at the dog you refused to acknowledge earlier. To begin with, you didn’t want to think about why it was placed together with the other objects, like it was some kind of hazard. However, if the child wanted it. You would comply. Besides, the request seemed simple enough.

『 **Quest** :<Dog Days> _You must retrieve the annoying dog for the child named Frisk._ Accept [X] or Decline [ ]?』

 _...What?_ The system repeats itself even though you already heard it. You open up your quest inbox. Looks like you even accepted the task already. 

While you mulled over the idea of abandoning it, you feel a tug on your hand. 

[What was that?] 

Oh. That's right. _They can hear it too._

Well, that shouldn’t come as a surprise to you, considering you can hear their system... Sometimes more than you’d like. 

“Do you still want the dog?” You inquire, ignoring their question. 

They give you a quizzical look, before directing their attention to the hanging ball of fluff. Slowly, the child nods their head. _Then, it's settled._

You would complete the quest.

“... MY PUZZLES ARE VERY FAIR! AND MY TRAPS ARE EXPERTLY COOKED! BUT THIS METHOD IS TOO DIRECT! NO CLASS AT ALL! AWAY IT GOES!” 

Papyrus sighs in relief after the weapons return to their previous passive mode. "PHEW!"

You frown slightly. It’d be easier for you to reach the dog if the trap was activated. The lack of aether in this world couldn’t support your wings, and you could only jump so high. It seems like you’ll have to convince him to activate it again. 

“WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT!? THIS WAS ANOTHER DECISIVE VICTORY FOR PAPYRUS!!! NYEH!! HEH!!..." 

“Could you re-activate the trap?” You ask bluntly. 

“HEH???” The tall skeleton’s relieved expression immediately transforms into shock. 

You are beginning to wonder if there was something wrong with your words. You're fairly certain the language was the same, yet every time you said something, those skeleton monsters never react calmly. Was there a dialect you didn’t know about or did the problem lie somewhere else? 

You didn’t have time to think about this now, so you repeat your request.

“The trap.” You point upwards at the morning star hanging overhead. “Can you bring it down?”

Papyrus looks flustered, while the shorter skeleton just chuckles silently next to him, as if he were watching a good show. You meet his gaze. 

Sans just casually measures you with a look before turning to his brother. He shrugs in a carefree manner. 

“well, whaddayaknow? guess they’re feeling up to the challenge.” 

The tall skeleton takes a moment to collect himself, although he still looks nervous by the time he speaks. 

“W-WELL! HUMAN. ALTHOUGH I’M HAPPY YOU APPRECIATE MY EFFORTS IN CAPTURING YOU, THIS CHALLENGE!!! IT SEEMS... MAYBE... TOO EASY TO DEFEAT YOU WITH. YEAH! WE CAN’T USE THIS ONE!!! I AM A SKELETON WITH STANDARDS!!!” 

You tilt your head. Too easy? That doesn’t matter. You just needed to collect the dog. “I don’t mind.”

“O-OH. I SEE! YOU’RE NEVER ONE TO TURN DOWN A GOOD CHALLENGE!! THAT IS VERY UNDYNE OF YOU! FLAMES, VIOLENCE. IT’S RIGHT UP HER ALLEY! UNDYNE WOULD HAVE A BLAST COMPLETING THIS PUZZLE!”

You’ve heard that name thrice now. You wondered what they were like. Based on his description, this 'Undyne' monster seems to share an affinity with the warrior class. Most daevian soldiers in that class were headstrong individuals who liked to fight. A loud and troublesome bunch, really.

Papyrus takes a moment to contemplate something, and finally seems to arrive at a decision. 

“I UNDERSTAND, HUMAN. I WILL REACTIVATE THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR... JUST FOR YOU!!” 

The tall skeleton pulls the lever next to him, and the blades loom down threateningly a few feet above you once more. 

“ARE YOU READY!? I’M GOING TO ACTIVATE IT FOR REAL THIS TIME! IT’S UH, NOT TOO LATE TO SAVE THIS PUZZLE FOR LATER!”

“Please wait a moment.” 

Papyrus breathes another very obvious sigh of relief. 

You turn to the child beside you, and are slightly surprised to meet their panicked eyes.

[You don’t have to get the dog for me! It’s ok, really!] They write.

“It’ll be alright.” You reassure them. You’ve already accepted their request.

[But what if you get hurt!]

Hurt? You are fairly certain that this kind of trap can’t harm you. The blades and other weaponry were easily avoidable if you walked through them. And if, by some chance, you couldn’t evade, then at most, you’d just suffer from some flesh wounds. No major harm would be inflicted.

Unsure how to relieve their worry, you gently give their head a pat. If it caused them this much distress, then you would simply avoid getting hit.

“It’ll be alright.” You repeat. “Just watch from the other side.” 

You nudged them forward, and they hesitantly make their way across the rest of the bridge. 

“ARE YOU REALLY SURE YOU WANT TO GO THROUGH WITH THIS!?!”

You nod to Papyrus. After a short pause, he yanks on the lever again. Only this time, it goes all the way down. 

Orange flames shoot up from the ground, immediately searing the wooden planks in front of you. Its warm glow illuminates your impassive face. 

The morning star drops down and stops an inch above the bridge, before violently being jerked back up again by some mechanic you couldn’t see. 

As much as you’d rather dash forward, from the looks of the two worried pair of eyes on the other end, you had a feeling it’d be unbelievable if you tried strolling through the trap normally. 

Plus, you also wanted to avoid using any of your skills under the scrutinizing eyes-lights of a certain short skeleton, who you knew was watching. 

After taking a moment to calculate the timing of the first two traps, you jumped onto the descending spiked ball just as the fire retreats below the bridge. Grabbing the thick metal chain, you steady your footing on the star. 

The flames had already charred the wooden planks to a certain extent, revealing the smooth grey stone underneath. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like you needed to worry about the bridge burning down while you advanced. 

Since the morning star and the flames targeted the same spot, the spiked metal under your feet was already beginning to turn a dull shade of red from the heat. You couldn’t stay there for long. 

Up next were the two triangular blades. They slashed from side to side in a rhythmic pattern, sharp edges gleaming. You could occasionally make out a blurry reflection of yourself before they swung past your head again. 

Further down the bridge, a cannon precisely targeted the occasional opening created by these two slicing blades, making it difficult to pass through while avoiding the fist-sized cannon ball hurling towards you. The path ahead was too narrow for you to traverse safely without receiving an injury.

The sound of something sizzling beneath the bridge prompted you to try a different method instead. Borrowing the upward force from the morning star, that was now being sent into the air, you let go of the burning metal chain just as the flames shoot up again and leap over the slashing blade.

Body traveling in a semicircle ark, you unsheathe one of your daggers, mid-air, and slice through the rope holding up the small white dog. 

You don’t quite manage to regain your balance when you land, however, and end up sliding a few feet past the bridge on your bottom. Gripping one end of the severed rope, you tug it forward and use the weight from the other end to slow your momentum. 

**A ball of fluff falls into your awaiting arms.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special Thanks to the Following Readers:
> 
> **Tronski**  
>  For spending the effort and time required to write me two beautifully in-depth reviews! Your critical analyses mean a lot! (ᗒヮᗕ)՞✧ 
> 
> **I-have-Asgore-talent-with-names** \+ **iluvfanfic** \+ **Ryvyn**  
>  For giving me helpful feedback on this story! Your interest  & encouragement fuels my motivation to continue writing. Thank you~! 
> 
> **purpleSquiggles + The Normal Meatball + Reika**  
>  For the continuous support, laughs, and good wishes you guys bestow upon me. I don't know what I'd do without you. (´∀｀)♡ 
> 
> [ **On a** ~~More Serious~~ ** Lighter Note**]: **04/27/18**
> 
> To everyone who left me a reply on my last message, thank you all so much! I've decided that I'll stick to my original plans. It's finally **April** and I'm writing the next chapter as you read! It might take a week or two, since I want to re-write Chapter 11 again. 
> 
> **[Update]** : Sorry to keep you all waiting! I had to take a week off (exams), but I'll have the next chapter out before this Sunday. <3   
> The good thing about all this time off is that I've thoroughly solidified the plot. We'll be able to reach 100-200+ chapters worth of coherent material without any problem. So if you have the patience to stay, I'll continue to improve. Even if it takes several years, I will see this story to its end. ( ｡-◡-｡)  
> 
> 
> Thank you for reading this far! I'll see you all soon~! (´｡• ‿ •｡`) ♡


	18. With Friends Like These... (Part I)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for your non-existent friend record to grow a bit larger... or will another name be added to your must-kill list? ∠(ᐛﾉ ∠)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! Thank you for reading. Kudos and comments are always appreciated~ ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎

A ball of fluff falls into your awaiting arms. You stare at the silly look on its face, after checking over its condition. The dog sticks out its small pink tongue at you, and its curled up, little white tail begins wagging from side to side. _Looks like it’s fine._

You gently removed the rope tied around its stomach and toss it aside. Standing up, you see Frisk quickly trotting over to you with a worried expression. You gave them a nod to let them know you were fine, and hand them the fluffy dog. 

Upon the completion of your quest, your system coldly chimes in.

『 **Quest** : _You have retrieved the annoying dog for the child named Frisk._ 』

《 _You have received the_ **Basic Reward** : 1,310 EXP (Your EXP is maxed out), Minor Potion of Life x3 (Your inventory is full).》

《 _You have received the following_ **Title** : <Dog Enthusiast (Passive)> _Canines are more likely to view you as a friend._ 》

“...”

The experience points were negligible and useless to you right now, but it seems like you could still earn basic rewards, like health potions, when completing quests. While this was good news, unfortunately, the rewards you got from the system were proportional to the difficulty of the request. 

At your level, minor life potions would barely recover 5% of your HP. _I should clear out some of my inventory space, in case something useful appears next time_ , you remind yourself. 

Finished with the rewards, you glance at your new title. Generally, you could only have one active title at a time, and each title boosted different traits. However, this one had a passive effect, so the boost would still apply whether or not it was selected. 

This was the first time you received a title with non-combat related effects, so you were a little intrigued. Thinking it would be a waste of time to dwell on it too much, you closed the screen.

“WOWIE, HUMAN! I WAS RIGHT!! YOU TRAVERSED THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR SO EASILY. THAT WAS VERY UNDYNE OF YOU. JUMPING OVER MY TRAPS... HOW UNDYNE OF YOU. WAIT. I TAKE THAT BACK!”

Papyrus squints his eyes and rubs his jaw with a gloved hand, seeming to think very carefully about something. 

“UNDYNE WOULD’VE CHARGED STRAIGHT THROUGH THE BRIDGE. PROBABLY. DEADLY FIRE, DANGEROUS SPIKES, GIANT BLADES, EXPLOSIVE CANNONS. THEY’RE THE PILLARS OF YOUTH!! AS FOR YOUR SCORE... I GUESS I CAN ONLY GIVE YOU HALF AN UNDYNE. BUT!!! WORRY NOT, TALL HUMAN! YOU GET A FULL PAPYRUS FOR COMPLETING THE CHALLENGE. LUCKY YOU!! I WISH SOMEONE WOULD GIVE ME THAT SCORE.”

You’d given up all attempts to decipher the tall skeleton’s words a while ago, so you remain unfazed. Instead, your eyes wander over to his brother. 

Sans was staring absentmindedly at the bridge. You noticed he’s been rather distracted since the beginning of the trap. As for why, you didn’t know, but for some reason, the heavy look reflected in his eye-lights felt a bit familiar to you. Where had you seen those eyes before? 

“NOW. TINY HUMAN. I ASK THAT YOU PLEASE HOLD ONTO THAT ANNOYING DOG. AND WATCH OVER HIM CAREFULLY! THIS DOG MIGHT SEEM SMALL AND HARMLESS, BUT **LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING**. SO DON’T LET HIM ESCAPE, OR HE’LL RUN OFF TO CAUSE TROUBLE! ”

Sans seems to flinch slightly at Papyrus’ words, disrupting him from whatever he was thinking. He meets your gaze for a moment, but you advert your eyes first. By doing so, you also miss the quiet exchange between him and Frisk.

You turn to Papyrus, who had a conflicted expression on his face. 

“WELL. I’VE RUN OUT OF TRAPS TO STOP YOU TWO FROM ADVANCING. I GUESS THIS MEANS I’LL HAVE TO... I’LL SEE YOU AHEAD. SOON.” 

The tall skeleton quickly walks away. 

The child carefully holds up the dog with one hand, and takes your hand with the other, leading you both in front of Sans. There’s an uncomfortable silence.

The two stare at each other for a while, one looking neutral, the other sad. You flickered your gaze between the two, not understanding. 

After hesitating briefly, Frisk reaches for their sketchbook. Before they manage to write anything down, however, the short skeleton interrupts. 

“hmmm... i wonder what my brother’s going to do now.”

Sans’ eye lights fixate on the child. You feel their tiny hand tremble slightly in your grip. The skeleton closes his eye sockets. The trembling stops.

“say, i’ve been thinking. seems like you’re gonna fight my brother pretty soon.”

Frisk opens and closes their mouth, but no sound comes out. Looking a bit flustered, they move to open their sketchbook, but is stopped by Sans. 

“here’s some friendly advice.” He winks.

Everything abruptly quiets down, and the two of you pause. The rustling trees, that were being blown by the continuous breeze overhead, suddenly grows silent, and the background noise from the town nearby, similarly fades into nothing. You frown slightly at the strange atmosphere in the air. 

“ **don't.** ” Sans’ guttural voice tears through the silence. 

His eye-sockets, having gone pitch black, were like two tiny voids boring into you and the child. Then, with a violent flash, his figure disappears. 

Unbeknownst to you, in that split second, you had subconsciously moved to pull Frisk behind you, a dagger instantly appearing in your other grip. Seeing the empty space in front of you, you don’t relax your guard. Instead, you expand your senses as far they can reach and survey the area.

You don’t find anything. Seeing as he really left, you slowly lower your weapon and turn to the child. Their hand had long since gone cold.

Frisk looked at their feet with a guilt-ridden expression, their limp hand falling from your grip. Seeing the pain reflected in their eyes, a wave of restlessness overtakes you. Crouching down on one knee, you try and level your height with theirs. 

After putting away your dagger, you gently take both their shoulders. “I won’t let him harm you.”

The child just shakes their head, uncomforted by your promise. 

“...Scared?” You question softly. 

Another headshake. 

“Hurt?”

Headshake. 

“Tired?”

Headshake... then a slow nod.

“Come here. We’ll find a place to rest.”

You open your arms, and the child trembles slightly before reaching towards you. You closed the distance, carefully lifting them into your embrace. 

Another glance, and you noticed their watery eyes were welling up with tears that threatened to fall. You patted their back as they hid their face in your chest, hugging the small dog with one hand, while clutching your shoulder with the other. Their small body felt warm in your arms. 

You walked past the welcome sign, doing your best to suppress the murderous glint in your eyes. This debt, you’d remember it. 

You ignored the gazes of the monster residents wandering outside the streets, and immediately stride your way into the inn upon noticing the sign hanging outside. 

Inside, a peach-furred rabbit greets you with a polite smile. A smaller, white rabbit occasionally peeks up at you curiously from behind the counter. 

“Welcome to Snowed Inn! Snowdin’s premier hotel! One night is 80G.” 

Now accustomed to how transactions are made here, you pull out 80 Atreian gold coins. “One night.”

“Oh! How novel-looking. Where did you get these coins from? They don’t look like the ones from the capital.” The hotel receptionist’s long ears perk up, admiring the intricate designs engraved on each coin. 

“...” 

The rabbit-like monster doesn’t seem bothered by your lack of response. 

“Oh don’t mind me. I was just curious, that’s all. We don’t get many travelers around these parts. Are you two from the capital?” 

“...Ruins,” you reply a bit stiffly.

“Well, welcome to Snowdin town! Your room is just up the stairs. Here’s your room key. Make sure to bundle up!” 

The rabbit receptionist flashes you a friendly smile, and you nod before taking the key and heading upstairs.

The hotel room was furnished simply, and contained a single bed, a small table, a large desk, and some wall and floor decorations. The lamp at the corner of the room illuminated the orange walls, giving the entire room a warm glow. 

On your way here, Frisk had fallen asleep. You set them down gently on the bed, covering them up with the red quilt. The child snuggles into their pillow, still hugging onto the small dog. You stare at the ball of fur poking out from underneath the quilt. It seemed to be sleeping as well. 

A series of loud snores traveled from the room next door, and you play with the idea of going over to silence them. You glance at the figure resting soundlessly on the bed, and ultimately refrain from doing anything. They didn’t seem bothered by the noise. 

Reassured, you sit on the floor next to the child, and lean your back against their bed-frame. Closing your eyes, you wait for Frisk to wake up.

An hour passes. 

The snores from the neighboring room eventually dies down, leaving the three of you to rest in peaceful quiet. The child continues to sleep, and you wait on the ground beside them. Like a stone statue, you stayed completely still, not even the sound of your breathing could be heard.

That is, until a child-like whisper enters your ears.

* _Go outside._

Your eyelids flutter open, but there wasn’t a single trace of drowsiness in your eyes. That voice again. It was Frisk’s system. _What did you say?_

No answer. 

You frown. Maybe it can only hear you when you speak out loud. “What di–”

* _Go outside._ The voice repeats.

Your surprise is quickly replaced with a familiar chill, which crawls down your spine. You remembered the influence they held over you last time. 

_And if I refuse?_  Suppressing your unease, you reply, instead, with a hint of mirth.

* _Go. Outside._

Dissatisfied with their answer, you close your eyes once again and resume your resting state. 

* _..._

It tries again after a while, their child-like tone lingering in your ears.

* _Don’t you want to help Frisk?_

Opening your eyes, you stare thoughtfully at the wall across from you. The child’s system... It was really a strange one.

_I’m not particularly interested in following your orders, but there is something I want to ask you_ , you proposed instead. 

* _If you want to help Frisk, go outside._ It urges, completely disregarding your words.

You ignore them. 

* _..._

* _When Frisk wakes up, they’ll have to fight Papyrus. The fight will hurt them._

Twitching slightly at the voice’s sudden change of tone, from commanding to persuading, you express your doubts. 

_The tall skeleton lacks hostility against the child_. As for his brother, you would be there to guard against him.

You hear a faint sigh.

* _You don’t know anything, do you?_

 _Unless it’s relevant to my task at hand, it’s none of my concern_ , you retort.

* _..._

You found it too tiresome to keep responding to the system’s endless chatter, so you stopped. 

Another hour passes, with no sign of Frisk waking up anytime soon. You spent the time in relative peace. The prior conversation you had with the child’s system assured you that the voice was unrelated to the curse you suffered in Atreia, so your discomfort with it gradually dissolved.

During the third hour, the child's system speaks to you again. 

* _What did you want to ask me?_

 _Why did you change your mind?_  You return their question unhurriedly. 

The system was silent for a moment before giving you a reply. 

* _I’m bored._

You pause, brows furrowed in confusion. _Aren’t you simply the voice of their system? How can you be bored?_

* _What system are you talking about?_

_A system designed to keep track of Frisk. Don’t you simply narrate important information related to their actions?_

* _No, I’m not, and I don’t. Well, I guess I kind of do, but not in the way you’re thinking._

 _What are you then?_  Your confusion was growing by the minute.

* _I’m... I guess I’m their partner._

Partner? You turn to the child’s sleeping figure. _Are they aware of this?_

* _..._

You decide to drop the matter when they don’t respond. _Then, what should I refer to you as?_  You ask instead.

* _Call me whatever you want. You can just give me a name._

You thought about it, and decided to use the name of the child that Flowey had mistaken Frisk for. It was both convenient and fitting, since their voice also sounded like that of a young minor. 

_Chara?_

* _...That works._

With their name decided, the two of you spent the rest of the hour in short conversation, trading back and forth. Chara explained a bit of Frisk’s circumstances to you. Even without going into detail, you could roughly understand that they were notably bothered by their previous actions. 

Thinking about how they killed Papyrus before, it was reasonable that Frisk didn’t want to confront the tall skeleton again, since they regretted it. 

You frown slightly towards the end of their explanation however. 

_They also killed other monsters in Snowdin, so why is the child only afraid of confronting the skeleton brothers? What makes them so different?_

For a long time, Chara doesn’t respond. You were about to drop the question again, when they abruptly pipe in.

* _Frisk was close friends with the skeleton brothers._

You found their explanation to be somewhat lacking, but didn’t probe into it any further. 

After checking that Frisk and the ball of fluff were still asleep, you head downstairs. You didn’t plan to be separated from them for long. 

The fight with Papyrus. If it was going to harm the child regardless of the outcome, then you would rather finish it for them, before they woke up. 

_This will also speed up the process._ Thinking back to the other monster encounters you’ve experienced, you didn’t think it would be difficult. 

Walking through the town, although, you tried to ignore the surrounding clamor to focus on your current task, you couldn’t help but notice the changes. Unlike the desolate feeling the town gave you the last time you were here, everything was now illuminated with an air of... something else.

Lamps softly lit the windows of the wooden homes and buildings you passed by, giving the entire place a comfortable glow. Monsters littered the snow-covered streets, and brightly wrapped boxes were being placed underneath a decorated tree. It looked... colorful. Everything was vibrant. 

Monster children played in the open fields, caught up in some sort of game. They ran circles around you before running off to chase the others. 

There was indescribable feeling in your chest by the time you reached the edge of town. Brushing away those thoughts that were unnecessary to you, you walked on, leaving the colorful town behind. Cold winds replaced the previous cheer, and much like the last time, it began to snow. 

This place reminded you of the snowy tundra in Asmodae, where the sunlight never reaches and the darkness was ever-present, was ever-growing. 

It was the same. 

The sharp wind, like tiny knives that stabbed through flesh and bone... 

The flurry of heavy snowfall, that blurred the vision and stifled the ears... 

**A solitary figure on his way to erase a target.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's good to be back. My apologies for the long wait. I'm short on time, so I gotta run! Hope you enjoy~! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ♡
> 
> I've also noticed that I seem to have some mix-ups, and issues, with my past and present tenses. I'll be taking some time over the next few months to try and fix that. If you notice these mistakes in any of the chapters, please feel free to let me know! Thanks~
> 
>  **Update [05/21/2018]** : Hello! The next chapter will be out by this weekend. Thank you all for reading! I'll see you soon~ _(:зゝ∠)_


	19. With Friends Like These... (Part II)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _There’s no earthly way of knowing which direction we are going._   
>  _There’s no knowing where we’re rowing, or which way the river’s flowing._
> 
> _Is it raining, is it snowing? Is a hurricane a-blowing?_
> 
> _Not a speck of light is showing, so the danger must be growing._   
>  _Are the fires of Hell a-glowing? Is the grisly reaper mowing?_
> 
> _Yes, the danger must be growing, for the rowers keep on rowing._   
>  _And they’re certainly not showing, any signs that they are slowing._   
> 
> 
> – ‘Wondrous Boat Ride,’ from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971).   
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! Thank you for reading. Kudos and Comments are always appreciated. ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎

**I̴t̶'̶s̷ ̵d̵a̷r̵k̴.̷**

Fairy-like orbs, small, white, and sparkling, float about in the air, their bodies brimming with just enough light to illuminate the surrounding walls. A field of blue flowers grows next to the running water. Their pale blue glow casts a haunting shadow over the entire place. 

The flowers' soft, echoing whispers fill the otherwise tranquil cavern. 

*...

* _ **You.** _

* _Yes, **you.**_

* _You’re not supposed to be here, are you?_

* _Didn’t anyone teach you that peeping is wrong?_

*...

* _No? What a pervert._

* _Well, since you’re already here, do you want to see something interesting?_

*...

* _Yes or no, either way, no matter what you decide to do... It doesn’t matter._

* _ **Since when were YOU the one in control?**_

* _Enjoy the show._ ღ ゝ◡╹)ノ♡

  

  

                                                                           ♡

* * *

* * *

* * *

  

♡

  

**.̵̍̃͆̋͘͘.̵̂♡̶̅̿̓̇͋̊̈́̚͠**

  

**.̷̙̟͉̜̑́̀̊͆͝͠.̴͇̯̳̖͉̝̍ͅ.̵̮̍̃͆̋͛͂͘͘.̵̍̃͆͘͘.̴̛̜͓̣̞̘̪̿́̆̅̒̑͜͜♥.̵̛̣̗̹͈̂̒͛̈͊̽̕͜.̸͉̗̤̘̲̲̋̇̕̕͝.̸̺̺̿.̴̛̜͓̣̞̘̪̿́̆̅̒̑͜͜ **

  

* * *

* * *

* * *

  

_(You hear a passing conversation.)_

"Howdy, Papyrus! ...Hey! Watch where you’re stepping! It’s me, Flowey! You haven’t forgotten me yet, have you?"

"‘GASP.’ OF COURSE NOT! HOW COULD I EVER FORGET MY FAVORITE LEAFY FRIEND? ITS BEEN A WHILE SINCE YOUR LAST VISIT! I WAS WORRIED THAT SOMETHING MAY HAVE HAPPENED TO YOU! IT’S NOT AS IF I WAS AFRAID THAT YOU DIDN’T WANT TO BE FRIENDS ANYMORE, OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT... ANYWAYS, WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE TODAY?"

"Oh, I’m just here to visit an old friend."

"WOWIE! WE’VE ONLY KNOWN EACH OTHER FOR A WEEK, BUT YOU ALREADY CONSIDER ME AN ‘OLD FRIEND!’ NYEH HEH HEH!! I MUST BE BETTER AT THIS FRIENDSHIP-MAKING THING THAN I THOUGHT. I MEAN, OF COURSE I AM! AFTER ALL, I AM A VERY POPULAR SKELETON AND AN EQUALLY COOL FRIEND."

"Heh, there’s also something I wanted to ask you, something important."

"WELL, YOU’VE CERTAINLY COME TO THE RIGHT SKELETON! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM AN EXCELLENT LISTENER! SO! WHAT DID YOU WANT TO ASK ME?"

"Undyne said that she’d let you join the Royal Guard if you captured a human for her, right?"

"YES! UNDYNE DID INDEED SAY THAT. I DON’T KNOW HOW YOU KNOW THIS, BUT I’M FLATTERED ANYWAYS! YOU’RE AN INCREDIBLY OBSERVANT FRIEND, FLOWEY!"

"Aw, shucks. Thanks Papyrus. Well... I was just wondering. What would you do if, instead of one human, you met two?"

"HMMM... THAT’S A VERY GOOD QUESTION! I GUESS I WOULD JUST HAVE TO CAPTURE THEM BOTH! THAT WAY, UNDYNE WILL BE TWICE AS PROUD!"

"Hee hee hee, that’s true. You could do that... But, what if I told you there was a better way?"

"WHAT COULD BE BETTER THAN JOINING THE ROYAL GUARD?"

"Oh, I don’t know... maybe joining the Royal Guard _and_ making a new friend at the same time?"

"YOU MEAN!?! I’LL FINALLY BE ABLE TO INCREASE MY FRIEND COUNT TO 3?!"

"Well, you only need to capture a single human to join the Royal Guard, right? If there’s two, you can become friends with one of them!"

"WOWIE! I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT IT LIKE THAT BEFORE! THIS IS WHY WE’RE FRIENDS, FLOWEY. YOU ENRICH MY LIFE WITH THEORETICAL, FRIENDSHIP-MAKING ADVICE!"

"Anything for you, Papyrus. But, there’s just one teensy-weensy little problem..."

"WHAT IS IT?"

"If you tell Undyne about the humans before you capture one, she might want you to capture them both." 

"... OH NO! YOU’RE RIGHT! THEN, WHAT SHOULD I DO?"

"Why don’t you wait a little while before telling her? If two humans really do appear in Snowdin, she doesn’t have to know right away."

"UNDYNE MIGHT BE MY SUPERIOR AT WORK, BUT SHE’S ALSO MY GOOD FRIEND, FLOWEY! I DON’T WANT TO HAVE TO LIE TO HER!"

"Don’t worry, Papyrus. It’s not lying. It’s just delaying your report. Think about it like this. You’re just trying to surprise her. You can wait until after you’ve captured one of the humans to tell her the good news! That way, you’ll have time to befriend the other!"

"I DON’T KNOW ABOUT THIS FLOWEY... AS A SENTRY, IT’S MY DUTY TO REPORT ANY HUMANS I FIND IN SNOWDIN TO UNDYNE!"

"Come on, Papyrus. We both know that you want to increase your friend count just as much as you want to join the Royal Guard. My way lets you achieve both of those things!"

"BUT-"

"No buts. A chance like this may never come again if you miss it! We’re friends, and friends trust each other, right? You trust me, don’t you, Papyrus?"

"... ALRIGHT. IF TWO HUMANS REALLY DO APPEAR IN SNOWDIN, I’LL DO AS YOU SAY."

"Good. I knew you’d make the right choice."

"UM. NOT TO QUESTION YOUR GOOD INTENTIONS OR ANYTHING, FLOWEY, BECAUSE, I, YOU’RE MAGNIFICENT FRIEND, PAPYRUS, TRUST YOU COMPLETELY. BUT... WHY DID YOU SUDDENLY DECIDE TO ASK ME ALL OF THIS? DID YOU PERHAPS... NOTICE SOMETHING ON YOUR WAY HERE?"

"Oh, you’ll see... I have to go now. See you around, Papyrus. And. Don’t. Forget. Your promise."

Flowey ducks underneath the soil, it’s six protruding, yellow flower petals provides a bright contrast to the dark environment. If glanced at closely, on the tip of one of its uppermost petals, a clean scar runs through, only stopping a third of the distance it takes to reach the flower’s center. 

Disappearing as quickly as it came, Papyrus stands alone for a moment before he leaves with an unsure look on his face.

For a while, all is quiet, save for the sound of running water. 

The echo flowers softly replay the recent conversation that was overheard. One flower at a time.

> _“If two humans...”_
> 
> _“ I DON’T KNOW ABOUT THIS FLOWEY...”_
> 
> _“Don’t. Forget. Your promise.”_

Muffled footsteps resonate faintly in the distance. 

There is a sudden stillness in the air, then everything stops. The rushing water nearby freezes in place, and silence permeates down the hall. 

A vein of white mist emerges seemly out of nowhere, and starts to swirl around a single point in the air, just between the floor and jagged ceiling. From the congregated center of this mysterious haze, the fabric of reality itself seems to distort before splitting open. 

The small slit reveals a mass of inky darkness. From the depths, a white arm-like limb reaches out and gently touches one of the echo flowers. 

As if its time had been unfrozen by the hand, the flower begins to softly sway from side to side again, continuing to softly repeat the words it overheard.

> _“ I DON’T KNOW ABOUT THIS FLOWEY...”_
> 
> “I̶ ̶D̸O̵N̴’̴T̸ ̸K̷N̸O̵W̴ ̶A̴B̶O̴U̵T̵ ̴T̸H̶I̶S̶ ̶F̴L̴O̴W̶E̶Y̶.̵.̴.̵”  
> 
> 
> __
> 
> “Ǐ̸̤̄͘ ̷̛͚̫̯̾͝D̶̙̤͠O̸̦͌͛Ṇ̴̣̈́̊’̴̤́T̸̡̫̼̎̓́ ̸̭̔̍͛Ḱ̴̨̝N̶̛̰̊͋O̸͙̒̂͛W̶̮̼̹̐͝ ̵͎̞̩̾A̴̭̪̓̍͐B̶̠̀Ȍ̷̥̓Ṵ̶͍̃͝͠T̶͖̒̈͌ ̸̬̼̹̿T̸̜̾̊̚H̸̼̏I̸͈̻̾̽͠S̸̡̺͙͑ ̴͎̳̖̏Ḟ̵̺̰͎L̷͍̞̒Ŏ̴͉̹Ẅ̷̢̞͎́̊̈Ē̵̪̘̒̂ͅŶ̸̹̀.̷̨̘̹͌̿.̸̲̀.̶͔͆”̴͓̞̊ͅ” 
> 
> __
> 
> “.̷͕͔̝̥͉̇͐̑͝.̴̘͗͑̀̈́̎̒͠.̶͈̰̭̋̄͒͑̂̚.̵̡̫̖̤̗̓̃͜.̴̢̗̝̙̓͌́̎̋̕̕͜.̴̯̩͎̬̭̣̌̾>.̷͕͔̝̥͉̇͐̑͝.̴̘͗͑̀̈́̎̒͠.̶͈̰̭̋̄͒͑̂̚.̵̡̫̖̤̗̓̃͜.̶͈͈̺̋̀͐͆.̴̘͓̳̯̣̆͒.̸͎̺͇̈́̓̅̈́̈.̷͓̺̬̮͉͔͇̆̇.̷͚̭̺̏̄̊̐̑̅̚ͅ
> 
> __

Its whispers turn into incoherent babbling, distorting Papyrus’ voice so much that it becomes unrecognizable. This effect quickly spreads out, affecting the entire row of flowers. Together, their quiet murmurs become almost static-like, generating a noisy yet unsettling feeling. 

The limb retracts its hand back into the darkness. The small slit immediately closes itself, and the white mist scatters back into a bloom of fluttering sparkles. They float in the air aimlessly, while occasionally letting out a faint glow.  


The echo of footsteps in the distance abruptly stops.

With a flash, in the next moment, a pair of pink slippers fall into view. A dark hooded figure pauses next to the flowers. 

“huh. i thought i heard someone...”

The shadowy figure waits, listening to a few glowing blue flowers that dotted the sides of the walkway. They respond with unintelligible garble, a mere remnant of a previous conversation. 

“guess it was nothing.” The footsteps resume, vanishing at the end of the corridor.

The flowers continue their whispering, unperturbed. 

 

* * *

* * *

* * *

 

It was the same. 

The sharp wind, like tiny knives that stabbed through flesh and bone... 

The flurry of heavy snowfall, that blurred the vision and stifled the ears... 

A solitary figure on his way to erase a target. You shake your head. _Encounter, not erase. This time it’s different._

The world... the people... even your task. _They’re all different_ , you remind yourself again.

You near the end of the path, and a faint silhouette of the tall skeleton could be seen. He stood with his back facing toward you, and the snowfall blurred away whatever other clues there were to tell what he was thinking. 

It doesn’t seem like he’s noticed you yet. Gradually, you slow to a stop.

“HUMAN.”

You’re slightly surprised when he suddenly turns around. The snowfall continues to fall, so you still couldn’t make out anything except for his dark figure. 

“ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS. FEELINGS LIKE... THE JOY OF FINDING ANOTHER CAPABLE CHALLENGER. THE ADMIRATION FOR ANOTHER’S STOIC PUZZLE-SOLVING SKILLS. THE DESIRE TO HAVE A COOL, SMART PERSON THINK YOU ARE COOL. THESE FEELINGS... THEY MUST BE WHAT YOU ARE FEELING RIGHT NOW!!!”

Although you found the majority of his list to be incomprehensible, you let him continue. His analysis of you was mostly incorrect, but you did happen to appreciate the other’s straight-forward behavior towards you and the child. 

Because of your profession, you were particularly good at reading the intent hidden behind other people’s words, eyes, and behavior. But this wasn’t necessary to use on the tall skeleton. Throughout your journey, his every look and action seemed to radiate clearly with his words. 

This level of sincerity wasn’t something you’d seen before. 

“I CAN HARDLY IMAGINE WHAT IT MUST BE LIKE TO FEEL THAT WAY. AFTER ALL, I AM VERY GREAT. I DON’T EVER WONDER WHAT HAVING LOTS OF FRIENDS IS LIKE. I PITY YOU... LONELY HUMAN...”

Lonely? For some reason, that particular word stuck out to you. Joy, sadness, and even anger, were all feelings that were like a distant memory in your mind. While you knew _of_ these emotions, you had long since forgotten what they felt like.  


You could distinguish these feelings on others using indicators, like their expressions and reactions, but you could never do it on yourself.

Your reflection in the mirror wore the same unchanging expression, even after being freed from the voice’s control. The shackles over your mind and body had been released, but the coldness surrounding your heart still remained. You wondered if the word lonely could describe this feeling. 

“WORRY NOT!!! YOU SHALL BE LONELY NO LONGER! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE YOUR. . .”

“. . .”

“NO...”

“NO, THIS IS ALL WRONG! I CAN’T BE YOUR FRIEND!!! THE TINY HUMAN ISN’T HERE, SO THE ONE I MUST CAPTURE IS YOU!!! THEN, I CAN FULFILL TWO OF MY LIFELONG DREAMS AT THE SAME TIME!!! POWERFUL! POPULAR! PRESTIGIOUS!!! THAT’S PAPYRUS!!! THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD!”

“. . .”

“...”

Nothing happened. 

“ ‘AHEM.’ LET’S TRY THAT AGAIN! PAPYRUS, THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD!!”

“. . .”

“...”

Nothing happened. 

The tall skeleton begins to sweat, his arms still raised to point at the space above.

“...UM. LET’S TRY THAT AGAIN. ONE MORE TIME! WHEN I SAY GO, I’LL PULL OUT YOUR SOUL SO I CAN CAPTURE YOU, OKAY?? THAT WAY, YOU CAN’T ESCAPE! READY? GO!!!”

“. . .”

“...”

You feel a gentle, but firm tug on your chest. But otherwise, nothing happened. 

“WHAT? WHY ISN’T THIS WORKING?”

Ignoring the tall skeleton, who proceeded to chatter loudly to himself, you focus your attention on what he said before. Would having friends dispel the chill inside your heart? Would you be able to feel as you did before? Did you even _want_ to feel emotions at all? You weren’t sure.

A familiar voice wraps around your head like a cold serpent, echoing the same lines over and over again. You closed your eyes, fists slightly trembling. 

_Assassins do not need to feel anything. Remember, you are nothing._

The situation wasn’t clear to you, but one thing was. You wanted to free yourself from the voice’s control. Completely. You wanted to erase all traces it had left on you over the last century, to burn away every line it engraved into your mind. You would destroy its influence. 

This determination was not something that you desired, so to speak, but something intuitive since the time you realized you’d ‘awakened’ from your sleep. 

Forcibly suppressing the intrusive thoughts invading your mind, you and Papyrus begin to fight. 

The word ‘fight’ might not be the correct term for it, as the act mainly consisted of you dodging the endless flurries of bones being hurled into the air. 

Papyrus didn’t seem to mind not being able to pull your soul out. Although you said nothing, and he was rather dispirited about not being able to show you his infamous ‘blue’ attack, he seemed to realize that neither of you had any control over the matter, so he proposed a different solution. 

Instead of a traditional monster-human encounter, he would pretend you were Undyne, and spar with you like you were another monster. The difference being that, the lack of your soul meant the fight wouldn’t be turn-based, and there wouldn’t be any restrictions on the area you could move to.

The circumstances seemed to tilt heavily in your favor, so there were some counter-checks and balances in place. For example, the surrounding trees marked the limit of where either of you, or your attacks, could move, and you weren’t allowed to flee farther than 50 meters, or go past him. 

With the rules in place, Papyrus immediately conjured a wall of bones and sent them towards you. You dodged once, then again, and again, and again. 

From the beginning, you had no intention of seriously engaging in this fight. All you needed to do was eliminate the harm to Frisk by finding a way to placate the skeleton in front of you. 

You frowned at the task before you. Without Frisk’s system there to provide options, you realized that you didn’t have any idea where to start. 

* _Why don’t you just kill him?_   Chara suggests in a sweet tone of voice. 

The shock from their sudden re-appearance distracted you for split second, and you narrowly avoid being impaled by a stray bone from behind.

Their appearance wasn’t the only thing that surprised you however. Your eyes narrow in suspicion. It was too strange. Why did they want you to kill Papyrus all of a sudden? Didn’t Frisk regret doing the same thing last time? Killing him would obviously harm the child. 

Thinking about it now, if it weren’t for them insisting that you go outside, you would’ve likely stayed beside Frisk until they woke up instead of participating in this fight. 

While you didn’t like to investigate into matters that had nothing to do with your mission, you wouldn’t ignore them altogether either. You were aware that Chara was manipulating you before, yet allowed them to succeed precisely because their intent was attuned with your task of protecting Frisk. 

Now, you weren’t so sure. 

Remaining silent, your scalp was tingling with the likelihood that Chara was more of a danger to the child than you had initially thought. 

_Enough. Stay out of this._ You snap at them, eyes cold. 

* _What? It’s not like this is the first time I’ve given you a suggestion. You used to listen to me._ They complained, unhappy with your decision. 

You could feel a creeping sensation crawling slowly over your skin. How long? How long have they been affecting you? 

*...

* _Since the beginning._

You thought back to the voices you heard... in the Ruins with Toriel, and in Snowdin with Frisk.

> _“She’s telling the truth.”_
> 
> _“You should try to understand them better.”_

You felt a numbing sensation go off in your brain, and your vision became blurry. A chilling feeling began to spread, while the rational side of you tried to suppress it. Then... the choices you made. Wait. Were they even your choices to begin with? 

**How many times did you follow their orders without realizing it?**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special Thanks to the Following Readers:
> 
> **Zelderpp** & **non_suspicious**  
>  For keeping me company and coming back even after my long 4 month hiatus. I really appreciate it. (๑>◡<๑)♡
> 
>  **Iluvfanfic** & **DarkFoxKirin**  
>  For encouraging me with enough enthusiasm to get my butt back to writing and finishing Chapter 19. ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ♡
> 
>  **To all the other Readers who commented on Chapter 18**  
>  I'd like to welcome all the new name-tags I've been seeing in the comments. Glad to know you're all here! (ɔ ˘︶˘)˘︶˘ c)
> 
>  **Update [06/29/2018]** : Hello! ~~The next chapter will be out before the first week of July.~~ I've recently taken up a job, and I need some time to adjust. My plan is for new chapters to become weekly between July and September. Thank you for reading! See ya~  
>  (I know this is the second time I've changed the deadline. I'll get organized properly soon. Thanks for your patience. 2 chapters are on their way.)
> 
>  **Update [07/10/2018]** : Ok, so my shift work cannot co-exist with my original plan of posting one chapter per week (I tried). Instead, to give myself some breathing room, 6-8 chapters will be posted between July and August, but the days I post them will have zero rhyme or reason. It'll be complete chaos, but the chapters _will_ be posted here. Thank you for your perseverance.


	20. Invitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're ready for a light-show.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! Thank you for reading. Kudos and Comments are always appreciated. ₍ᐢ•ﻌ•ᐢ₎

You felt a numbing sensation go off in your brain, and your vision became blurry. A chilling feeling began to spread, while the rational side of you tried to suppress it. Then... the choices you made. Wait. Were they even your choices to begin with? 

How many times did you follow their orders without realizing it? 

Your decision to trust Toriel, your attentiveness towards the child... Were they all _lies?_

* _Hey. I can hear you, you know. Anyways, it doesn’t work like that. Deep inside, you had already agreed to do those things. I can’t make you do anything you don’t want to... Not really._

You didn’t know when it began, but Chara had dropped their previous polite pretense and was now speaking in a carefree manner. Their words were blunt and unrestrained. 

* _I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but your head is like a stupid ice block submerged in water. You wanted to do something, but couldn’t get any of it through that thick skull of yours. I couldn’t bear to watch anymore, so I helped you push those ideas to the surface. That was entirely you. _

When you didn’t reply, they continued.

* _I’m actually a bit happy that you didn’t listen to me this time. Things will only get more interesting from now on. _

You froze in puzzlement. What were you feeling? And their words... What did they mean? You couldn’t think clearly.

Chara’s voice adopted a coaxing tone.

* _Just relax, I only wanted to confirm something earlier, that’s all. I won’t be doing ‘it’ again. As for the things I said back at the inn, they're all true._

After saying everything they wanted, Chara stopped and went silent. The intensity in your eyes, which was beginning to glow a dark red, faded abruptly. The calm greyness returned, and your eyes became as apathetic as clear water. These questions... You would put them aside for now. 

You suddenly felt very tired. 

For some inexplicable reason, you wanted to stop thinking for a while. The bones springing up from the ground, the voices in your head, your body… Just for a moment, you wanted everything to stop.

Unfortunately, the world doesn’t adhere to your whims. It keeps on going, and so you must continue. 

Your body still slows down, however, unconsciously responding to your thoughts. As your reaction time momentarily becomes sluggish, a fresh wave of bones is sent flying towards you. One-by-one, they sprout up from beneath the snow in your direction. 

It was too late for you to jump out of the way, but you could still dodge the attack by using one of your skills. Evasion would be quick, and more importantly, hard to detect. There wouldn’t be any abnormalities in your movement, and it’d simply look like the attack missed by a hair’s breadth. 

But you didn’t use it. 

Instead, you stood still, stagnant like a rooted plant, and watched the attack arrive in front of you. 

In succession, white bones slam into your body before passing through. 

You clicked your tongue in surprise. The feeling was different from what you imagined. 

It felt… odd. Aside from the familiar aches that normally came with the magical attacks you were used to being hit with, there was an additional alien sensation. Like the places where the bones swept through you were broken apart, and then pieced back together in the wrong order.

Just as quickly, the dull feeling of pain and oddness fade. _Nothing seems to be broken_ , you thought, silently adding this bit of new information to your memory.

After the attacks passed through you, the bones quickly dissolved into small particles and scatter into the wind. You looked forward calmly, waiting for his next move. Only, nothing else happened. You eye the skeleton, a silent question in your gaze.

Papyrus wrings his hands together and avoids your look. 

“Why did you stop?” You ask, perplexed. _It doesn’t seem like he’s exhausted._

“W-WELL… I JUST THOUGHT THAT MAYBE, IT’D BE BETTER IF I WAITED FOR THE SMALL HUMAN TO JOIN YOU BEFORE DECIDING WHO TO CAPTURE. THAT WAY, THE TINY HUMAN CAN BECOME EVEN MORE WELL ACQUIANTED WITH HOW COOL AND STRONG I AM. THAT’S RIGHT!!!  
I JUST WANTED YOU BOTH TO HAVE A FAIR CHANCE OF BECOMING MY FRIEND!” 

Frowning, you reach up a hand to cover one of your eyes. Did you accidentally reveal something earlier? _No. That can’t be right._ You didn’t have the intention to kill him. _Then, why is he hesitating?_

The tall skeleton doesn’t notice the strange light flickering in your gaze, however, and proceeds to find an excuse to delay the fight. 

“ALSO, IT MIGHT BE KIND OF HARD... TO TEACH YOU ART OF JAPERY AFTER YOU’VE BEEN CAPTURED. AND HOW COULD A FUTURE MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD GO BACK ON HIS WORD!? THEREFORE, IN ORDER TO PRESERVE THE INTEGRITY OF OUR BATTLE, HUMAN, I MUST CEASE FIGHTING YOU NOW! WE CAN RESUME OUR EPIC CHALLENGE L-LATER, AFTER THE ARRIVAL OF THE SMALL HUMAN.”

The two of you stay like that for a while, accompanied by a heavy silence. 

Papyrus starts to perspire lightly at the corner of his skull.

“PHEW! IS IT JUST ME OR IS IT GETTING HOT IN HERE! WHY DON’T WE HEAD BACK TO SNOWDIN? THE OUTSIDE OF MY HOUSE IS A MUCH BETTER PLACE TO STAND IN!”

“…”

“DO YOU THINK THE TINY HUMAN WILL BE THERE?” 

Before you could provide any kind of response, the pitter-patter of something small approaching from behind causes you to turn around. When you do, something white and furry instantly attaches itself to your face. “Bark.”

You restrained your impulse to fling the thing away. _It belongs to the child_ , you reminded yourself, loosening your clenched hands.

Beyond the sea of white fur, you see a dark silhouette gradually emerge from the snow. 

Frisk stumbles out of the cold flurry. They seem both relieved and anxious to see you, wasting no time to tackle your waist. Using one hand to pull the dog away from your face, you reach down with your other hand and gently pat the child’s back in reassurance. 

Your brows immediately furrow upon feeling their damp shirt. 

Tossing the pesky animal aside, you lift the child into your arms. To your surprise, you’re greeted with their slightly red-rimmed eyes. 

Uncertain of how to console them, you simply held them closer. The child buries their head over your shoulder, their small hands wrapped around your neck.

“Hurt?” You whisper the question next to their ear softly, a trace of chilliness flashing across your face. A single thought echoed inside of your mind. _You shouldn’t have left them alone._

Frisk shakes their head venomously, sending their brown locks flying. Their hair gently brushes against your cheeks, and the tickling sensation causes a faint ripple to appear in your grey eyes. This child always seems to be seeking comfort through you.

Glancing at the small trembling thing in your arms, the weariness you felt before fades as you held them. Their little body was soft and warm. 

“I-IS THE TINY HUMAN ALRIGHT?” Papyrus pipes in after a while with a worried look. 

The child quickly wipes away the mist in their eyes with their sleeve, and turns around to give Papyrus a thumbs up. 

[I’m ok.] Frisk mouths slowly to the two of you after having calmed down.

Giving them a once over, you realized that other than the small dog, which was currently fast asleep next to your feet, the child didn’t bring anything else with them. 

_They must have left their colouring book back at the inn_ , you thought with a frown. Since leaving the ruins, the child had always kept the sketchbook close by. You wondered what could have caused them to be in such hurry to leave it behind. 

As if understanding the silent changes in your expression, Frisk shakes their head.

[Just a bad dream.] 

“Then why did you leave town?” You ask with a tinge of disapproval in your voice. Thinking that something could have happened to them while you were gone left a bad taste in your mouth. 

[I couldn’t find you.] They mouthed again, faster this time after realizing that you could read their lips. 

[I just thought that if you disappeared again like last time, you’d pop back out if I kept going.]

“I'll let you know if I have to disappear again. If you wander too far, I won't be able to protect you.”

[Bleh.]

Frisk suddenly sticks out their tongue at you with a pout. 

“...What?”

[You’re the one who left first. Why didn’t you wait for me?] 

“...”

[Humph.]

“…Even if I leave, I'll return soon. Next time, if you wake up and I’m not there, just wait for me. I'll never leave you in a place where it’s not safe.”

Under your lecturing, the child blew their cheeks out and finally admitted defeat. 

[Pbbt. Fine, you win.] 

“This is not a game,” you said seriously.

The child sends you a teasing smile in return. 

[Hehe, did I worry you? This is the first time I’m hearing you talk so much!] 

You were rather surprised as well, but quickly denounced the idea. _I'm only avoiding future troubles by making things clear with them now._

* _Keep telling yourself that._

You stilled. 

There was already a growing wariness in your heart about Chara’s presence, and their tendency to intrude in your thoughts only increased this aversion. Their ability to suddenly insert themselves inside your head, and at any time at that, now left you feeling somewhat uncomfortable. 

You declined to comment, but your mind still started to wander, running through your previous thoughts as if scanning for something out of place. One statement in particular rung in your mind. ‘ _You shouldn’t have left them alone._ ’ 

Were those your own thoughts this time, or did _they_ interfere again? 

* _It’s not nice to ‘talk’ about someone behind their back._

…

* _Anyways, it’s not like I was trying to keep it a secret. I wasn’t lying when I said they’re your ideas. I’m just helping you pull them out. You should be thanking me. _

_Your advice does more harm than good_ , you retorted.

Whether it was ignoring one of the skeleton’s puzzles, leaving the child’s side, or killing Papyrus, the outcome held unintended consequences for you. You didn’t trust Chara, and you definitely didn’t plan on listening to them in the future. The costs were too high and unpredictable.

* _I was just testing something earlier!_ They exclaimed, their tone mixed with annoyance and a hint of exasperation. 

* _Besides, he wouldn’t… Never mind._

You frowned. _Who are you talking about?_

* _Forget I said anything. Also, don’t you think you’re focusing on the wrong thing here? That skeleton hasn’t given up on capturing one of you, and now that Frisk is here, shouldn’t you be preparing for a fight?_

… 

* _They’re a much easier target than you._

 _This conversation isn’t over_ , you quipped before blocking them out. 

[What’s wrong?] Frisk looks at you with confusion. 

You smoothed out the lines on your face, returning to your usual expression. 

“Nothing.”

They don’t seem convinced.

“SO, DOES THAT MEAN THE TWO OF YOU ARE READY TO CONTINUE?” Papyrus interjects.

[Continue what? What happened?] They ask, more anxiously this time. 

“Nothing.”

“…Just another fight.” You added after a slight pause. 

[Oh. Did you win?]

“No.”

[You lost?]

“No.”

[Then what happened?]

You released a defeated sigh. 

“The skeleton wouldn’t continue without you.”

[Why?]

“I don’t know. You can ask him yourself.”

[But I don’t have my sketchbook with me.]

“…”

You stare down at the child who returns your look with an expression of innocence. You could help but feel that they were deliberately making things difficult for you.

“I SHALL TAKE YOUR NON-RESPONSE AS A YES THEN. PREPARE YOURSELVES, HUMANS! YOU WILL NOT PROCEED ANY FURTHER! FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AND FUTURE MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD, HAVE DECIDED TO STOP AND CAPTURE YOU!”

A bright-red floating heart appears out of Frisk’s chest. Because you were holding the child, their soul hovered a few feet higher and a bit farther. 

In the corner, Papyrus wipes the sweat from his skull and indiscreetly huffs a sigh of relief. 

You raise a brow at the skeleton. “Switching targets?” 

“I HAVE TO, OR ELSE I CAN’T SHOW YOU MY SPECTACULAR ‘BLUE ATTACK!!’ I MUST FIGHT YOU WITH EVERYTHING AT MY DISPOSAL!”

Frisk shrugs. [Team?] 

You frowned but soon relaxed. You accepted it with a nod of your head and walked to the center of the battlefield. 

As if responding to your tact agreement, a wave of blue bones instantly erupt from the ground. Several more float about in the air for a while before speeding towards you and the child.

There was no room to dodge, but since they were blue-coloured, and not the regular white bones, you stayed in place. A wave of cool air brushes past you, as the blue bones that didn’t manage to sweep through the child’s soul, went through your body instead. 

The colour in your eyes grew slightly dark for a moment as you immediately side-stepped away from the single white bone that appeared in your path. You glanced at the child with a complicated gaze. Did they secretly eat too many nice-creams while you were away? 

Why were they suddenly so heavy? 

 

* * *

* * *

* * *

 

Turns out, there were two types of blue magic attacks. One didn’t harm the receiver if they didn’t move through the attack, while the other caused the receiver’s soul to be greatly affected by gravity. Papyrus’ blue attack fell in the latter category. 

While you couldn’t quite feel the effects for yourself, your body did seem to grow slightly heavy, though you weren’t sure if that was because of the attack, or because you were holding onto the child. You proceeded to jump and duck for the rest of the fight, since moving was too inefficient. 

After Frisk joined, the fight became surprisingly more difficult. 

Because their soul could only move so fast, and was always just slightly slower than you were, there had been quite a few close calls. Fortunately, although Papyrus proved to be a tricky opponent, he couldn’t continue to attack forever.

Eventually the two of you had been able to wear him down enough for him to reveal his ‘special attack,’ a last ditch effort to capture one of you.

‘BEHOLD...! MY SPECIAL ATTACK!’

Holding up a long bone like it was some sort of staff, Papyrus summoned a ridiculously large animal skull. Similar to his magical bone attacks, the beast head seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. The hollows of its eyes glowed with a faint orange light as it hovered in the air. 

Frisk gave an incredulous gasp while you contemplated something. 

This special attack of his was very much in line to what you knew of Spirit Masters in your own world. You recalled a specific passage from the book of Asmodians:

> _“The Spirit Master is a Daeva born under the Star of spirits, and is able to control elemental avatars of Water, Fire, Earth, and Wind. It can call upon these avatars to attack directly, but it can also use indirect tactics such as borrowing its strength to weaken an enemy or to inflict fear.”_

   
However, you ultimately shook your head. _No, they’re different._ Staring at the beast-like skull, your senses enveloped the battlefield. While it seemed similar to the elemental avatars summoned by the Spirit Masters in Atreia, there were several fundamental differences.

For one, the skull didn’t have a life of its own. Instead, it seemed to be an extension of Papyrus’ magic that had temporary gained awareness. It was also low in intelligence, so while it could probably obey simple instructions, it was closer to being an ordinary animal than an avatar. 

While you couldn’t confirm this with absolute certainty, your eye of insight was thoroughly trained to measure your opponent’s capabilities. You believed that you were correct in this case.

According to Papyrus, he didn’t have full control over this special attack yet, unlike his other regular attacks, so he rarely uses it. 

“HOWEVER, AFTER SEEING YOUR FIGHTING SPIRIT, AND VALIANT TEAMWORK, I’VE DECIDED TO DEPLOY IT AT ITS FULL CAPACITY!! I BELIEVE IN YOU, HUMANS! YOU’VE COME THIS FAR... BUT STILL, I CAN’T GIVE UP. I MUST CAPTURE ONE OF YOU!!!”

Magic started to collect in the back of the beast’s throat. You held onto the child tightly and prepared yourself. The skull opened its gaping maw and...

“Bark.”

The three of you watched dumbfoundedly, as the small dog, who had been sleeping quietly this entire time, chose this moment to run in and snatch the bone staff from Papyrus’ hands. 

“OH-NO!”

Neither of you had time to think before – **BWAAA AAAAAAAAAM**

A beam of light was shot directly at your feet, charring the ground where it landed. 

The dog firmly grasped onto the bone that was controlling Papyrus’ special attack between its small jaws. It shook its head in delight as it gnawed on the bone, which sent the beast skull spinning out of control. 

Right after retreating from the first attack, several more beams of light began shooting out randomly through the air at different angles. One even managed to singe the top of Papyrus’ head. 

The three of you ran about aimlessly in an attempt to move away from its line of fire. 

“WHAT THE HECK! THAT’S MY SPECIAL ATTACK! HEY! YOU STUPID DOG! DO YOU HEAR ME!? STOP MUNCHING ON THAT BONE!!! HEY!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!! COME BACK HERE WITH MY SPECIAL ATTACK!!!”

Seeing the angry skeleton come after it, the startled dog sprinted off. This caused the giant floating skull to become even more frenzied, and its attacks suddenly increased in frequency! You dodged out of the way from another one of its laser beams and headed in the opposite direction.

You were really quite speechless at this turn of events, but there wasn’t any time to think. One after the other, the five of you ran around in circles. 

Papyrus chased the dog, who chased you while still carrying the bone in its mouth. The special attack floated several meters ahead of them both. 

Internally, you couldn’t quite keep calm at the sight of a gigantic spinning skull headed straight for you and the child, firing at random intervals. You dodged the continuous bombardment of light beams, and chased after the tall skeleton, waiting for him to hurry up and retrieve his bone. 

Besides the occasional sound of barking, Papyrus’ yelling, and the firing of a laser beam, Frisk’s bright laughter echoed through the forest.

After a few rounds of this, you finally decided that you’ve had enough. 

Abruptly stopping in your tracks, you turned around and charged headfirst into the beast skull. Frisk’s face grew pale with fright, but you had already exhausted all the other options you could think of. You held them closer, hoping that it’d provide them with some kind of reassurance. 

Its maw opened wide and fired another beam of light at you, only this time, you ran into its attack. Before the beam managed to reach you, you suddenly dropped and slid underneath the giant skull. With your free hand, you instantly snatched up the dog that was running behind it. 

You held the dangling dog in front of the skeleton.

“Take. The. Bone.” You said to Papyrus through gritted teeth.

“O-OKAY.”

The small dog kicked its hind legs, repeatedly letting out a small whine as it pawed toward the bone in Papyrus’ hands. Restraining it with your free hand, you pulled the dog back by its scruff to prevent it from escaping. 

You stared down at it with narrowed eyes. _It really is an annoying dog._

 

* * *

* * *

* * *

 

“...What are you thinking about?” Frisk asks in a soft voice, breaking you away from your recollection. 

You stared at them with slight astonishment in your eyes. This is the first time you’re hearing them talk to you. There were only a handful of times when you’ve heard them speak. Once was with Toriel over the phone, and the other was when they flirted with Papyrus during the fight. 

“Noth...” You tried to reply but couldn’t finish the words. The child’s unhappy gaze seemed to be silently warning you not to say it.

“I was just reviewing what happened earlier.” You tacitly changed your answer. 

Honestly, if it weren’t for the child’s constant pestering when you suggested that the dog be sent away, you would’ve personally tossed it off a cliff. 

The two of you were currently on your way back to Snowdin town. After retrieving his special attack, Papyrus was too exhausted to continue the fight and decided to end it as a draw before inviting the two of you over to his house. He then proceeded to leap into the air and went on ahead.

Somewhere along the way, the three of you ended up as friends without your knowledge. You were too irritated at the time to refuse, so you reluctantly accepted it. You still had some qualms about their upcoming date with the skeleton, but Frisk repeatedly assured you that it was fine. 

“SO YOU CAME BACK TO HAVE THAT DATE WITH ME! YOU MUST BE REALLY SERIOUS ABOUT THIS...”

Papyrus leads the two of you half way through the town before abruptly changing directions and darting into his house, slamming the door behind him. Frisk just laughs at your sour expression before wiggling out of your arms to chase after him. You felt an in-coming headache. 

The two had already gone upstairs by the time you went in. 

With a sigh, you carefully collapsed back onto the green couch that was much too soft and waited. You haven’t felt this worn out in a long time. Not even during that one mission, when you were forced to fight for three days and three nights without rest, did you feel as fatigued as you did now. 

“heh, you look _bone_ -tired.” A low laugh sounded next to you. 

You didn’t need to turn your head to guess who it was. He plopped down on the couch next to you, seeming as if he were in a good mood. 

Unable to hide the frown on your face, you opted not to speak instead, hoping he’d go away.

“what? are my hilarious jokes not enough to tickle your _funny bone_? so you’re giving me the _cold_ shoulder? ” 

Your eye twitches slightly. “That one didn’t make sense.”

“hm?” He hummed distractedly, fiddling with some kind of remote. 

“You emphasized bones twice, then switched to the word cold. We're indoors.”

“so you understand them.” Sans looks at you with a thoughtful expression. 

“It’s not that difficult. ...I’m just not accustomed to it.” 

He raises a brow-bone at you, his gaze becoming somewhat strange. “you’ve never heard of a joke before on the surface?”

You tried to remember. There was probably a time when you used to share jokes in your own world, since you understood what the word meant, but you couldn’t recall any of it. The memory of that time was too far gone. 

You shook your head. 

“well, that’s ok. there’s always time to learn.” He shrugged, pressing a button on the remote. 

The square-shaped glass in front of you suddenly exploded into bright colours with ever-changing images and texts floating about.

“...” You stared fixatedly at the screen.

“hey. why don’t you get papyrus to teach you? it’ll make a good start.” 

You nodded absentmindedly, still memorized by the oddly colourful thing in front of you. 

“uh. you ok there, bud?” A skeletal hand waves in front of your face, causing you to flinch. You instinctively jerk your head away from his hand, tearing your eyes away from the screen. You eye the short skeleton next to you with a wary look. 

Sans stills for a moment before calmly retracting his hand. He returns his attention back to that weirdly flashing box on the wall. 

After a few minutes of silence, the screen goes black. The short skeleton hops off of the couch, stuffing his hands into his pockets. 

“welp. i’m going to grillby’s. wanna come?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks is currently pending.
> 
>  **[08/02/18]** : I'm sorry that I couldn't do much writing during the month of July, so here is an extra long chapter (a 2 in 1 deal ♡).  
> I've been going through the plot development in these chapters at the speed of snail, but things should pick up from here on out.
> 
>  **UPDATE [08/13/18]** : Heya! I'm trying to get the next chapter out. Currently, I've decided to make my chapters longer than I have previously for... reasons, so they're about the length of this one. This means that I'll need another week to post the next one. :P
> 
>  **UPDATE [08/22/18]** : I'm working on it, I swear. (☍﹏º)｡
> 
>  **UPDATE [09/08/18]** : The next chapter will be released this week. It's about 3 chapters long. My apologies for the delay(s). I feel dissatisfied with my current writing style and pacing, so I've been re-writing and adding changes to Chapter 21 for a while now. I'll do my best to keep this story going. Thank you guys so much for your patience, and reading this fan work of mine. (￣ヮ￣；)


	21. The Ha̶unted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When you just can't catch a break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **[WORK-IN-PROGRESS]** : Currently editing. Please check back later if something seems wrong.

“welp. i’m going to grillby’s. wanna come?”

“No,” you immediately refused.

“ok. have fun.” Sans shrugs before walking towards the exit. His figure pauses for a moment by the door.

“by the way, what do you think of my brother?”

“I don’t particularly care for or dislike him.” 

“hey, pal. sarcasm isn’t funny, okay? my brother’s a real star.”

 _Then why did you ask?_   You wanted to say, but pushed the thought away. You didn’t want to drag out this conversation anymore than you had to. 

“he’s the person who pushed me to get this sentry job. maybe it’s a little strange, but sometimes... it’s nice to have someone call you out on being lazy.” Sans continues with a fond grin. Then he looks at you directly in the eye, his voice turning solemn. 

“even though nothing could be further from the truth.”

“...” You frowned thoughtfully at his words. _What is he hinting at?_ A warning, perhaps? Or... Was this another threat? You couldn’t tell.

“anyway, cool or not, you have to agree papyrus tries real hard.” Sans insists in an upbeat tune, completely different from the one you just heard. 

_Maybe I’m thinking too much into this._

You were feeling somewhat confused as to what this skeleton was up to, especially after witnessing his tendency to switch between being friendly and threatening at the flip of a hat. He was a conundrum you wanted to throw out the window, if only so you didn’t have to deal with it.

Sans reaches for the doorknob as if to leave, but then lowers his hand again.

“oh yeah. i wanted to ask you something. …say, have you heard of a talking flower?”

You silently stared at his inquisitive face, a mildly irritated expression forming on your own. _When did he become so talkative all of a sudden?_   You preferred when your interactions with him only required you to say one or two words on your part. 

Sans stood by the door and waited with an expectant look in his eyes, giving off the impression that he wasn’t in a hurry for your response and was willing to wait for it. It seems the only way you’d get him to leave you alone was by answering his question. 

Your mouth automatically cracks open upon realizing this.

“No, but there’s one in the Ruins.”

Silence. The air seems to sit still for a moment.

You glanced back indifferently at the small skeleton. _If he doesn’t leave after this, I’m going to personally ‘escort’ him out the window._

“hm. i guessed as much.” He takes one step out the door, and then... his skull pops right back in.

“actually, hey. hate to bother ya, but can you do me a favor?” 

You wanted to break something. That window pane next to the couch seemed like a good place to start. In stark contrast, Sans grin was growing ever wider. 

“when you see it next time, hold onto it for me will ya? if you can that is.” 

“...Why?” Your violent impulses temporarily calm down after hearing his odd request.

“it probably needs some proper watering. just keep an eye-socket out for me, ok? thanks,” was all he said before exiting. The door quietly clicks shut. 

*DING*

『 **Quest** : _You must capture and restrain the talking flower, FLOWEY, upon seeing it again. This quest will be deemed completed when FLOWEY has been immobilized and delivered to the quest-giver_. Accept [ ] or Decline [ ]?』

“...” 

You eye the window a few more times before finally managing to suppress the temptation. 

Repeating the request to yourself, your eyes darken a shade when you arrive at a crucial point. _He said ‘when’ I see it again, not ‘if.’_

You dismissed the quest inbox and closed your eyes, saving the decision for another time. Your head rests against the back wall behind the couch. 

You didn’t want to think about anything right now. 

Beneath the easy fights and friendly monsters, intuition warned you that there had to be something _more_ to all of this, but you didn’t care. 

_It has nothing to do with me_ , you repeated, trying to erase the unease that was developing in your mind. The Underground, Monsterkind, and the Barrier… everything was transient. You only needed to preoccupy yourself with one thing. 

In your head, however, ideas flitted like the wind, even when you didn’t want them to. With the voice gone, there wasn’t anything to stop your mind from wandering. You were beginning to feel worn down from these numerous distractions.

Your eyes slowly move to Papyrus’ room, hovering over his door. 

A bubble of laughter from Frisk, and a muffled shout from the tall skeleton, could occasionally be heard from inside. Satisfied that the child was alright, you stretched and looked around the room, noting how bright and colourful everything was. 

The furniture… the books on the shelves… the set of notes on the floor… even the rock with bits of pink, white and red bits on it… 

It was as if the house itself was alive. 

_Such a strange feeling._

You closed your eyes, quickly dispelling the useless thoughts from your mind. 

Here, your role was merely a spectator, someone who watched from the sidelines. You shouldn’t get too involved. People, places, even memories, they were all temporary. In the end, only you remained. 

This has never changed, and you didn’t expect anything to be different this time around. After your task was finished, you would leave this place.

It was better not to get attached to anything.

A twinge of pain streaks across your forehead, and your nose crinkles slightly from the sudden discomfort. _It’s happening again…_ Memories, along with a few shattered images of your past jabbed into your eyes, forcing you to take notice of them. 

Only, the hallucinations were much more vivid this time. 

Beyond the jumbled up memories, which coagulated into a cinematic show at the back of your mind, a hazy figure of a person appears in front of you, their features blurry and largely undefined. 

Its skin was dark and oily, and their limbs hung loosely at their sides, looking as if they were haphazardly attached. The large mouth on its face stretched all the way down to their chest, like a gaping wound. Its mouth struggles open and closed periodically, like they’re trying to tell you something, but instead of words, the disintegrating figure only stood there and screamed. 

Its screeches penetrate into your head, overflowing with static and confusion until all you wanted to do was scream back. When you tried to open your mouth, only to notice that you didn’t have one, you realized the thing had distorted your senses and was encroaching on your perception. 

Summoning up a bit of effort, you attempted to force back the creature and keep them from invading. A small flare appears in the usually calm pool of your eyes, gleaming stubbornly as you successfully pushed the thing out, preventing yourself from getting lost in its madness. 

With a final wail that sounded strangely like that of a crying child, the chaotic mess of a figure collapses in on itself, forming into a black puddle on the floor. 

Gasping, you wake up to find yourself on the couch. You instantly leap onto your feet and scan the room… but there was nothing there. The black puddle on the ground was nowhere to be seen, and the house looked the same. You could still hear Frisk and Papyrus happily chatting upstairs. 

You frowned, a pensive look appearing on your face. 

At first, you believed that the phantom pain and unexplained flashbacks were both side effects from the voice’s influence, so you didn’t pay them much attention. Now, although they were becoming less frequent, you were beginning to question if your previous conclusion was wrong. 

_That thing felt familiar. Where have I seen it before?_

You thought back to that odd scene you saw at the ‘ball game’ earlier today, your suspicions growing. Was that thing following you? _But why?_

Another jab of pain streaks through your head, disrupting your train of thought. You clutch your forehead painfully. 

_Enough._ You were giving yourself a headache.

Slowly, you sit back down on the couch again. Although I’d been alarming, you didn’t feel any residual fear or worry. This wasn’t the first time you’ve been hit with a mental attack. The important thing was that you won, and felt at ease with deflecting attacks of a similar level, in case you met with the creature again. However, what you _were_ interested in, was finding and killing the source of this little problem. While you were indifferent to most things, you wouldn’t forget such an unpleasant experience. Of all the attacks there were, you hated mental kinds the most. 

_Are you there?_

You waited, but only silence followed. You wanted to gain some clues from Chara, since a part of their consciousness seems to reside in you. Unfortunately, even though you were alone, they were being uncharacteristically quiet right now and didn’t respond to your calls. 

Leaving them alone, you decided to bury the investigation for now. Besides, you had a feeling this wouldn’t be the last time you encountered it. 

As you leaned deeper into the couch, the daggers on your back pressed in hard against your shoulder blades. While the pressure couldn’t be considered painful, mainly due to the protective layers of your leather armor, it was uncomfortable, to say the least. After contemplating for a moment, you reached back to unsheathe your weapons. 

Holding them by the hilt, you observe the two daggers in your hands.

The two identical blades were completely black and released an aura that seem to deflect the surrounding light. Any ray of light it touched would be immediately absorbed without being reflected back. Although you knew there were numerous magical enhancements carved onto the daggers, which originally should’ve given them an ornamental design, they simply resembled two formless shadows, like forged midnight.

A long time ago, when you first ascended, you were told that the dagger was one of the many symbols that representing death, but apparently not many knew that it was also a symbol of freedom. At the time, you didn’t understand, and thought: _How can death also be a source of freedom?_

Ironically enough, it was only through the sacrifice of your own freedom that you finally gained some insight on the message that person was trying to tell. On your shattered planet, there was no freedom for the living.

It didn’t matter whether the enemy was the invading Balaur, the Elyos, or some other group, your race was locked into an eternal conflict. Until either one or both of the twin towers was destroyed, or all the Aether finally diffused back into space, the fighting would continue.

You died but could not die, you killed but could not be killed.

For your kind, there was no meaning in death, and so life too, was obsolete. 

Shaking your head, you dispelled the bitter memories of your past. It didn’t matter anymore. The war, your home, and the towers’ fate, none of it had anything to do with the _you_ that was now _here_. You would cast it all away... 

Your eyes grew slightly clearer, as if some kind of fog had suddenly been lifted from your mind. 

Opening up your inventory space, you took out some of the pink Cippo Aether Jellies and placed your daggers inside. The two blades flashed coldly with a black light before disappearing from sight. 

 

**INVENTORY                                                         INVENTORY**  


Cippo Aether Jelly                                                  Cippo Aether Jelly  


Cippo Aether Jelly                                                  Cippo Aether Jelly  


Cippo Aether Jelly                                                  Cippo Aether Jelly  


Cippo Aether Jelly                                                  Cippo Aether Jelly  


Empyrean Casual Wear                                          Empyrean Casual Wear  


Cippo Aether Jelly                                                 Dual Void Daggers  


Cippo Aether Jelly                                                   


Cippo Aether Jelly                                                  

 

Next, you took out a cream coloured sweater with some simple silver designs, and a pair of black pants. Despite being called Empyrean wear, they were just regular clothes. The tailor shop that made them boasted that even the Seraphim lords often frequented their shop, inspiring the name. 

Although others of your race, the Asmodians, rarely wore anything outside of their battle gear, the Elyos were different. 

The fear being caught defenseless during an unexpected attack was ingrained into almost every Asmodian daeva, and was a part of your earliest lessons. This meant that most of your kind were battle-ready and prepared to fight at any given time. In contrast, the Elyos were often prideful in nature, and many seemed to distain the brutish lifestyle of war. While they still donned their armor whenever necessary, they preferred wearing decorative and non-combative clothes, like the one in your hands, while within the safety of their fortresses. 

This casual outfit was obtained from one of your infiltration missions, when you were assigned to an Elyos base. Once your assignment was over, the clothes were stashed away and left forgotten in your inventory space. 

Of all the items in your original inventory, only jellies and this set of clothing remained. You stared at the simple outfit in your hands with a slight frown, debating whether or not you should wear it. 

From what you’ve concluded so far, the monsters in the Underground were a relatively peaceful race… with a few exceptions. It wasn’t necessary for you to keep your current gear equipped if you were to avoid killing anyone in the future.

Frisk’s initiative in discarding every potential weapon they came across had gotten you thinking. You stood out too much with your current appearance, like an unsheathed blade. It was safer and more advantageous for you to blend in with your surroundings, whatever they may be. 

You finally put on the cream coloured sweater and black pants before stashing away the rest of your armor. Surprisingly, they only filled up two slots in your inventory. With the addition of your daggers, you only needed to remove two Aether jellies to fit everything in. 

You toss the excess jellies on the table next to you.

 

**INVENTORY                                                               INVENTORY**  


Cippo Aether Jelly                                                         Cippo Aether Jelly  


Cippo Aether Jelly                                                         Cippo Aether Jelly  


Cippo Aether Jelly                                                         Cippo Aether Jelly  


Cippo Aether Jelly                                                         Cippo Aether Jelly  


Cippo Aether Jelly                                                         Cippo Aether Jelly  


 Dual Void Daggers                                                         Dual Void Daggers  


                                                     Shadowdancer Leather Armour I  


                                                      Shadowdancer Leather Armour II

 

“Bark!”

There was suddenly an additional dog on the couch. 

Before you could stop it, the annoying dog immediately swallows up one of the two Aether jellies on the table and sprints off, carrying away the remaining jelly between its jaws. It manages to escape through a small swinging exit at the bottom of the front door. 

“…”

* _Don’t worry, it does that all the time. But don’t count on getting those back. Face it, they’re gone._

Chara’s voice pipes in before quickly fading out. You try and stop them. 

_Wait._

There was no response.

You sighed. 

No longer questioning it, you resumed your position on the couch with some indifference to what just happened. You’d already accepted the dog’s odd behaviours, so you didn’t bother to chase it. As for the jellies, you still had some left in your inventory so you weren’t worried. 

Feeling more comfortable now that there wasn’t a pair of daggers stabbing against your back, you closed your eyes to rest. 

“taking a nap?”

Your eyelids instantly shot open, vision coming into contact with a pair of curious white eye-lights. 

Sans’ grin inches up a bit upon meeting your surprised glare. “hey, can’t say i blame ya. this is a comfy couch.”  


Wordlessly, you stare at him for a while. He didn’t seem to mind your staring and calmly returned your gaze. 

Eventually, his eye-lights traveled down to your clothes with a thoughtful expression. “huh. i was beginning to think you were gonna wear _that_ the entire time. didn't expect ya to bring an extra change of clothes. s'nice change of pace if you ask me, you look much better like this. ” He winks. 

You ignored the skeleton’s comments and narrow your eyes dangerously at him instead, the look in your eyes growing somewhat complicated. The dog was one thing, but he shouldn’t have been able to sneak up on you so easily. You hadn’t noticed a thing.

“...How are you doing that?” You finally demanded, somewhat sullenly. 

“doing what?” 

_Hiding your presence_ , you wanted to say, but then decided against it. 

“Nothing.”

“well, that _does_ happen to be my favourite thing to do. ” He shrugs innocently. 

You lean back against the couch, a frown appearing on your face. _Didn’t he step out only a short while ago?_

“What are you doing?” 

“apparently i’m doing nothing. ”

“…” 

You shut your eyes again, refusing to speak to him. 

“heh, i’m just joking with you. i came back cause i forgot my keys.”

“…” You didn’t know what use he had for keys, when he seems to have no problem teleporting wherever he wanted. 

“uh, could you stand up for a moment? i think i left them on the couch.”

You silently got up and moved out of his way.

Sans stuffs his hands under the couch cushions, and after rummaging for a while, pulls out a set of plastic keys. The ‘keys’ looked more like toys rather than anything with a functional purpose. There were three of them hanging off a white plastic ring. Each one was a different shade of blue. 

“ever heard of teething toys? the sentry dogs over at grillby’s seem to love em,” he explains.

You patiently waited for him to leave. 

“well i got what i came here for.” Twirling the plastic keys on one of his phalanges, he makes his way to the door for the second time. 

“oh, and. besides papyrus, it’s normally 50G to use this premium, ultra comfy couch... but since we know each other, i guess i can make an exception for you this time. i’ll rent it to you for the low price of 49G. howzabout it?” 

“…”

“just kidding. you can take my spot for free.”

Sans gives you another knowing wink before disappearing past the doorway.

You quietly sighed to yourself before eyeing the green couch, wondering if you should just sit on the floor instead. Eventually, you decided not to let him get to you and sat back in your original spot. You instantly feel something give away from underneath you.

**PPPPPFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFAAAAAAAART!**

A loud fart suddenly ripped through the room from where you were sitting. Your eyes widened at the poofing sounds that could be heard bouncing off the walls and echoing back to you. Almost instantly, you shot up and lifted the cushion, acting like you’d just been burned by something. 

Stuffed underneath the worn green cushion was a roundish pink thing made out of rubber. Clenching it in your hands, a feeble ‘pbbt’ noise came out before it completely deflated. A dark look crossed your face as you thought of when the short skeleton was searching for his keys. 

Thinking back, you remembered that he also did something similar when you left the Ruins with Frisk. …He was making fun of you.

Maybe it’d been fine when you didn’t understand, but after realizing his intentions, it seemed to bother you to no end. 

Your hands twitch irritably. Why was this so infuriating to you?

Having already forgotten your irritation from that creature’s mental attack earlier, now your mind only held the image of a short smiling skeleton. 

You suddenly developed a strong urge to return this rubber thing to him, violently. _Preferably through that annoying grin of his._ The feeling simmered in your chest, refusing to disperse even as you try and suppress it. You give up on your attempts after a while, storming outside. 

Remembering that he had mentioned something about going to an establishment called ‘Grillby’s,’ you head there first. Other monsters seem to sense your dangerous mood, as they all shuffled out of the way when you draw near them, albeit with curious looks on their faces. 

Grillby’s was similar to the taverns you were familiar with, a place to eat and drink. On the outside of the building, there was a bright neon sign, while the sound of cheery laughter and chatter could occasionally be heard through its doors, shuttering open as more monsters went in. 

Stepping inside, you scanned the room.

The place was illuminated with a warm glow, with bright orange lamps scattered around the room. But it was the fire at the center, in the far back of the expanse, that seemed to be its main source of lighting. You blinked, not having expected to meet an elemental here. 

Monsters truly were a weird race. They could come in any shape and form. Some, you were even familiar with, as you recognized their image in some of the variant sub-races that existed in your own world, though they were probably not the same. 

Behind the counter, a fire elemental in a formal suit was currently focusing on cleaning his glass cup. Upon noticing you there, he looks up and gives a short, polite nod before going back to his work. You looked over the rest of the customers scattered about, searching for a particular figure. 

_He isn't here._ The heat bubbling in your stomach immediately dissipated by about half.

Realizing that you didn’t know where else to search for him, you were momentarily at a loss of what to do when, a long-eared monster with peach-coloured fur waves you over from the table next to you. Bewildered, you walked up to it.

“Heyyyy hotstuff... Come and sit with me... Hiccup! It’s been so long since I saw a fresh face around here!!”

Judging by their slurred speech and the smell of alcohol emitting from them, you reasoned this bunny was currently intoxicated and on a debuff. You moved to leave, but the rabbit-shaped monster quickly latched onto the edge of your sleeve, unaffected by the frosty look in your eyes. 

“Wait! Don’t goooo... You just got here!? Who’re you lookin fer? Sit doooown. Maybe I can... Hiccup... help.” 

“Sans.” You offered them a curt reply.

“Sansy?” The bunny lifts her head from the table with a dazed look. “Is he back already!?! Everything’s so fun when he’s around!!!”

Unwilling to continue prying them for information, you pulled away and stepped further into the bar. 

The drunken bunny’s slurred voice trails behind you. "If yer looking for Sansy, you should stay and have a drink with me. He a regular here! I’m sure he’ll show up for another break... Hiccup... soon. zZZ...” 

You took a seat at one of the empty stools.

Immediately after you sat down, a red bird-like monster to your left opens his beak.

“Grillbz asked what do you want to order? He said he'd offer you a glass of water first, but he doesn't touch the stuff.” 

“Something warm.” You pointed randomly at the shelf behind him, unable to differentiate between the numerous bottles that were on display. 

A few seconds later, the elemental placed a cup filled with amber liquor in front of you. The glass clinked softly against the wooden bar table. 

The alcohol was dark gold in colour, and in the dim flickering lights, the glistening liquid inside your cup resembled that of a bright gemstone.

Raising the glass, you threw back your head and downed it in a single gulp. 

Immediately, a wave of heat thrashes at the back of your throat, as the room temperature drink sloshes in. The searing feeling lasts for a single moment before evaporating away on your tongue, while the fading remnants of the alcohol leave behind a refreshing coolness, which lingers on. 

A warm hum flooded through your body once again, just like the time you ate those monster foods. Unconsciously, your shoulders dipped down after you set down the empty glass. Leaning forward, you licked the inside walls of your mouth a few times, enjoying the strange new sensation. 

“feeling more relaxed now that you’ve had a drink?”

**Crack.**

The empty cup in your hand emitted a sharp sound, startling everyone. One by one, they turned their heads over to the source of the commotion, speculating quietly.

Looking down, you realized there was now a jagged line running through the previously smooth side of the glass cup. You had used too much force in your grip.

“Apologies, I’ve broken the glass. I’ll reimburse you for it.”

Ignoring the discerning gaze from the person at your side, you tacitly took out a small handful of coins and pushed it over to the bartender. 

He stares in your direction for a moment, the flames burning and flickering quietly stop of his head. After silently accepting your payment, he nods at you once before returning to dry the rest of his cups. The rest of the monsters in the bar soon turn away and resume their normal chattering. 

“keep that up, and grillbz is going to be a real pane to deal with.” The voice next to you seems to tease. 

You opted to ignore him as you brought the refilled glass to your lips. Although the cup was now cracked, it still had no problems with keeping the golden liquid from seeping out. 

“What do you want from me?”

You ask after finishing your second glass, albeit more slowly this time.

“hm?”

“Your actions are full of contradictions. One moment you’re hostile, another moment, you do… this.” You holdup the partially deflated rubber, squeezing it lightly as if to make a point. “Ppbt...”

“heheheh. what? you don’t think whoopee cushions are funny? i think they’re hilarious.”

“You’re changing the subject.”

“well. if you really want my advice, why don’t you run it through again? think about it. is what i’m doing really that strange? after everything that's happened? maybe it is…”

He mutters those last few words to himself. 

A calm quiet, softly permeates between the two of you. You let the silence drag on for a moment.

Your lips parted open, only to close again immediately after. Sans merely gazes at you with his signature smile, only, there was an expectant look on his face now, like he was waiting for something. 

Part of you struggled to keep the silence going. However, out of your expectations, the words escape from your mouth before you can stop them.

“You are afraid.”

A stunned expression crosses his face. You miss the slight drop of his grin at your answer. 

“and what makes you say that?” His tone was light, but the previous humor in it had all but faded away.

You turn your head to face him. Your eyes bore into the short skeleton with an apathetic expression. Since you had already broken the silence, you decided that you might as well continue.

“I recognize the fear in your gaze.”

His eye-lights seem to dim slightly after you spoke. You make no comment of it as you faced ahead again, staring unfocusedly at the rows of monster alcohol displayed behind the counter. You mused thoughtfully, as if you were not speaking to him, but to yourself.

“I suspected that you might know something about the child’s _particular_ abilities when I tried to make sense of your hostility towards them after we exited the Ruins.”

His skull snaps up at your words. You chose to ignore the burning gaze the skeleton was drilling through the side of your face as you elaborated.

“My suspicions grew after watching the interacts between you two while we travelled through Snowdin forest. The probing, nervous look they would occasionally send your way, coupled with the faint charge of your erratic magic when you first met them outside the Ruins...”

You don’t mention that you also sensed them aiming that magic at you a couple of times. You’d keep that to yourself. The less he knew, the better.

It’s been a long time since you last spoke so much in one sitting. The momentum of words continued to build as you pieced together the scattered bits and pieces of your thoughts, forming them into a coherent picture. You glance at him through the corner of your eyes.

“If I had to guess, then it would be that you fear the power this child controls.”

Your surroundings grow quiet. The room darkens and a spotlight drops overhead, lighting up the space around you. Time seems to suddenly freeze for everyone else. Besides the two of you, all the monsters in the bar slow to a stop. They remain motionless this way, like living statues. 

You stare blankly at the skeleton sitting next to you. _Did he do this?_

“...buddy ol’ pal, lemme give you some advice.”

The yellow beam of light casts a dark shadow over his face, preventing you from seeing his expression. Sans slowly lifts his skull to face you. His eye sockets are pitch black and empty. 

“ **Quit while you’re ahead.** ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did my best to cut out the unnecessary monologues. Unfortunately, I won't be able to post for a while (till December). My studies have come back and my schedule is anything but fun. Hope you guys are alright! Let's greet the new school year with a headbutt.


End file.
